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Dos and Don'ts for a Successful = Hardscape

By Rose Kennedy, special to = HGTV.com

A great = hardscaping project=20 leads you through the landscape and = provides a=20 sense of timeless beauty. =97 image = courtesy of=20 Salsbury-Schweyer=20 =

Falling in love with = hardscaping is the=20 easy part, with so many appealing options =97 = from a=20 rustic stacked wall to a trickling fountain and=20 meditation bench to a fully developed outdoor = living=20 room and kitchen. Or maybe you just need a = couple of=20 interesting elements in that patch where grass = refuses=20 to flourish.

Once you've decided to act on the attraction, = though,=20 you must plan carefully to meet your hardscaping = goals.=20

Before = beginning any=20 hardscaping project, try to anticipate = how it=20 will fit into your long-range plans for = the rest=20 of your landscape. =97 image courtesy of = Salsbury-Schweyer =

"Research really pays off, = especially=20 when you consider that a fixed object in the = landscape=20 is not going to move easily =97 and you don't = want to put=20 in a lot of effort and then have your materials = or=20 design fail within a couple of years," says = Samuel=20 Salsbury, a member of the Association of = Professional=20 Landscape Designers and partner with Sabrena = Schweyer,=20 APLD, in Salsbury-Schweyer, an Akron, Ohio-based = landscape design group.

By taking these steps and avoiding some = common=20 mistakes, you can create hardscaping you'll love = for=20 years to come:

Look at the whole landscape before you = start.=20 As much as you can, consider the entire area = available=20 to you for hardscaping before you design an = element,=20 even if you're just tackling one space for = now.=20

"At the bare minimum you should plan a design = for the=20 whole area, or consult a professional to create = a design=20 for you," says Salsbury. "If you don't consider = the site=20 comprehensively, it's like building one room of = a house,=20 and then a year or so later, a second room. You = may=20 decide to plop down a patio, and then decide you = want a=20 barbecue, pond or walkway and the patio blocks = your=20 plan. I can't tell you how many times we've been = hired=20 by clients to tear out work they'd had done just = two or=20 three years earlier."

Delve into draining issues. Salsbury = says=20 he's seen more hardscapes messed up by people = ignoring=20 drainage requirements than by all the other = errors=20 combined.

"People, even professionals, think they have = good=20 drainage so they go ahead and add some = hardscaping," he=20 says, "But you must plan how the drainage will = be=20 affected when you place, say, a wall or a patio. = If the=20 new object is now blocking the previous path of=20 drainage, you can't just say, 'But it was = draining great=20 before!'"

There's also an environmental consideration, = says=20 Weston, Wisc. landscaper Susan Murphy. "You = should plan=20 runoff so you can capture the water and use it = on site,=20 instead of letting it hit that concrete and go = down the=20 drainage pipe."

Where possible, = allow a=20 good balance of plants vs. hardscaping. = =97 image=20 courtesy of Salsbury-Schweyer=20 =

Develop a focal point and a path you want = the eye=20 to travel. "For a hardscape that will = enhance and=20 enfold your natural landscape, you should create = a focal=20 point or seating area within the design," says = Murphy.=20 "You want the eye to travel towards a = destination, and=20 one or two visual elements that make you pause, = either=20 visually or literally, like a weeping evergreen = with an=20 Oriental lantern."=20

Don't plop elements down and expect them = to fit=20 in. Murphy's pet peeve? "Boulders that are = supposed=20 to be helping to naturalize an area, but instead = have=20 been dropped right on top of the ground and are = sitting=20 there like dinosaur eggs," she says. "To = successfully=20 use boulders in hardscape, you need to make sure = they're=20 large enough to fit with the scale of the = landscape, and=20 bury them deep enough so they look like a=20 naturally-occuring element."

Too-linear elements can create the same = unnatural=20 feel, says certified landscape designer = Schweyer. "I see=20 way too many people plop in a straight or = L-shaped=20 sidewalk, or stick a linear or rectangular patio = or deck=20 on the back of the house without giving further = thought=20 to the natural lines of the space," she says. = "You=20 should try to include curves and shapes in a way = that=20 the hardscape elements transition gracefully = into the=20 rest of the landscape."

Don't eliminate all your lawn. Sure, = you see=20 all-stone or concrete areas in the Southwest, = says=20 Murphy, but there the focus on hardscapes can be = a=20 matter of necessity, not a trend to follow.=20 "Southwesterners sometimes have to have a = hardscape=20 without greenery due to the strong sun and too = little=20 water," she says. Everyone else, she says, = should=20 definitely include ample vegetation in = relationship to=20 hard surfaces.

Barbara Pleasant, author of Garden Stone: = Creative=20 Landscaping with Plants and Stone takes the = idea=20 even further. "You can have a beautiful backyard = comprised of a hardscape framed by shrub and = flowerbeds,=20 but keeping a small swath of lawn is a good = idea," she=20 says. "Grass is a safer playing surface for = children,=20 and a patch of turf will help cool down the = landscape on=20 hot, sunny days."

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