Our Soft Landscaping Guide For All Landscapes
The best garden designs are those that encompass both soft and hard landscaping elements, offering a beautiful fusion of colour and functionality.
While both elements of landscaping are important, our work as a leading paving company means we understand where most people’s attention goes first.
Substantial tasks such as paving, patio, and driveway installations are often the first thing to be addressed when it comes to garden renovations. However, this does not mean the transformation should end here.
At M&M Driveways, we are huge advocates for soft landscaping and planting, as we understand the value that comes from these elements too. Leveraging our extensive experience and a deep passion for landscape designs, we have curated this soft landscaping guide to help you make the best decisions for your landscape and develop a perfectly cohesive design for your outdoor space.
Defining Soft Landscaping
To begin this soft landscaping guide, let’s define some terms. Soft landscaping refers to all the living components of your garden and outdoor areas.
Soft landscaping concentrates on plants, flowers, trees, and turf in contrast to hardscaping which is about pavings, patios, and other solid structures.
Harmonising both these elements is the art behind a cohesive and completed landscape design. Soft landscaping elements not only add colour and texture to your garden but also create a welcoming ambience which significantly increases the overall appeal of your outdoor space and creates a unique appearance that you can be proud of.
The Benefits of Soft Landscaping
The aesthetic appeal of soft landscaping is indisputable. However, this is not the only advantage soft landscaping offers, incorporating these elements into your landscape goes beyond just elevating the visual charm.
Adding plants and flowers can radiantly transform a plain, paved area into a lively, welcoming garden. With a range of elements like plants, trees, and even turfing, soft landscaping can add a unique touch of natural beauty to your surroundings that no man-made decor can match.
Having a garden brimming with greenery is not just visually appealing but also creates a serene atmosphere that supports your health and well-being.
Spending more time in nature brings various mental and physical health benefits, such as reduced stress and improved sleep. With soft landscaping in your garden, you can experience these benefits right at home, as and when you desire.
In addition to offering well-being perks to us humans, soft landscaping also contributes to environmental health and the propagation of a green future.
Plants enhance air quality by acting as natural air purifiers. They absorb harmful pollutants while releasing oxygen, making the environment healthier just by their mere presence.
Soft landscaping also aids in reducing soil erosion. Plants anchor the soil with their roots, preventing it from being washed away during heavy rains or winds, helping to maintain the cleanliness and safety of the space in every situation.
Moreover, green spaces provide necessary natural habitats for local wildlife, including valuable insects. By incorporating soft landscaping into your environment, you can actively support wildlife conservation and environmental biodiversity.
With all of these benefits in mind, it is clear that soft landscaping is not just about beautifying a space; it’s about making it feel good too and deserves your attention during your next garden renovation.
How To Compliment Hardscaping with Soft Landscaping Guide
A garden is not complete without soft landscaping elements, as these can greatly complement any hardscape surfaces and create a completed visually appealing layout for the space.
There are various ways that you can use soft landscaping to compliment the hardscaped elements of your environment and bring out the beauty that already exists in your garden. In this soft landscaping guide, we are going to explore a few including:
Colour Contrast
Adding bright flowers and different coloured plants to your landscape is a great way to compliment the hardscape elements using soft landscaping.
The vibrancy of the flowers creates a compelling contrast against natural paving stones, resin driveways, or other hardscaped elements to transform your outdoor space into a stunning canvas.
Texture Variation
The smooth, hard surfaces of patios and walkways may appear somewhat monotonous when this is all you have in your outdoor space. Soft landscaping can significantly enhance these areas and is a great tool to complement any paved or patio area.
Just as plants can add colour, diverse textures of leaves, flowers, and shrubs can also transform your garden by adding multiple textures and sizes. Using a variation of plants, you can create a layered, appealing aesthetic to even the most basic outdoor space.
A mix of hard and soft textures creates a tactile, visual harmony that people of all ages can enjoy.
Seasonal Interest
One of the key benefits of incorporating plant life in your landscape is the element of change it brings with each passing season.
While hardscaping elements remain constant, plants evolve and transform with changing seasons. Your garden becomes a spectacle as flowers, plants, and trees blossom in spring, flourish in summer, change colours in autumn, and display intriguing silhouettes in winter.
Soft landscaping elements bring a continual change to your landscape, maintaining its freshness and appeal all year round.
Framing and Focus
You can artistically use plants to frame and intensify focal points across your landscape, making them more appealing and drawing attention to the best features. The right grouping of plants can draw the eye, enhance the visual impact, and create a balanced, cohesive look for the space.
Softening hardscaping elements with flowers, plants, and trees can create a more cohesive and attractive look for the whole garden and is a great way to ensure the perfect balance is met.
A Soft Landscaping Guide For Every Garden
Now that you appreciate the benefits of soft landscaping and how it can amplify the appeal of your garden, it’s time to start adding it to your landscape.
Choosing the right plants is instrumental for a successful garden makeover, and your needs will vary based on the kind of look you desire.
Our soft landscaping guide can be immensely helpful for all sorts of landscapes and is an excellent starting point for those who wish to introduce some colour, texture, and seasonal charm into their gardens.
Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs can add depth and texture to any landscape. There are many tree and shrub species you may want to integrate into your garden, with some top recommendations being:
- Ornamental Trees: Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) or Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata) add height and structure to the landscape, providing a natural focal point in the area for year-round appeal.
- Evergreen Shrubs: Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) or Holly (Ilex aquifolium) deliver year-round greenery to keep your garden vibrant and colourful.
Perennials
Perennials are an excellent way to brighten up your garden in the summer and they return in following seasons too.
If you are giving your outdoor space a makeover during the warmer seasons and need some colour, texture, and fragrance to enhance its appeal instantly, then the following are great choices:
- Flowering Perennials: Lavender (Lavandula), Geraniums (Geranium spp.), and Hosta (Hosta spp.) offer long-lasting blooms and foliage for an instant appeal.
- Grasses: Miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis) and Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) grasses add movement and texture to your hardscape environment and can deliver ongoing visual appeal to the landscape.
Annuals and Biennials
If you desire the charm of soft landscaping without the need for continuous maintenance, annuals and biennials are a perfect choice. These plants can return year after year, bringing colour and texture to your landscape each spring.
- Bedding Plants: Options such as Petunias (Petunia spp.), Marigolds (Tagetes spp.), and Pansies (Viola spp.) are ideal for seasonal displays and will provide an instant colour boost to your landscape, even if you have limited space for soft landscaping.
- Biennials: Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) provide color in their second year and are an ideal option for a long-term plant.
Ground Cover
If you have large paved areas in your garden, you can still bring soft landscaping elements for additional colour, texture, and appeal. Some options provide large area coverage and instant appeal, such as:
- Low-Growing Plants: Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and Periwinkle (Vinca minor) cover large areas quickly, delivering instant appeal to the garden even if it is completely hardscaped.
Conclusion
As we have explored in this soft landscaping guide, plants are a key part of any well-designed garden. By carefully selecting the right plants, you can craft a beautiful, functional outdoor space that combines colour, texture and scents for a truly unique design.
With the right selection, soft landscaping elements can enhance your hardscaping and amplify your overall landscape design.
M&M Driveways takes pride in offering comprehensive landscaping services, including landscape design, paving, and driveway construction. Whether you’re starting from absolute scratch or improving your existing garden, our team can help.
Get In Touch Today
Ready to take your garden to a whole new level? Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discover how we can turn your outdoor space into a lush, vibrant haven the whole family can enjoy.
