How to Balance Hardscaping and Softscaping in Your Landscape

Sometimes, what’s supposed to be a garden looks like a concrete jungle. Other times, it’s chaotic and overgrown because there’s way too many plants in it. In either case, it’s hard to sit down and relax in a space that’s so off. If you’ve ever wondered why this happens, it’s because hardscaping and softscaping are not balanced. If you want to make your backyard into your happy place, you have to find the right mix of both.

When it’s done right, hardscape elements will bring form and function to your yard, and softscaping will bring it to life with color and texture. The result is a beautiful, practical, easy-to-maintain landscape you’ll love.

Let me show you how to create it.

Finding the Balance

The perfect landscape needs a blend of hard and soft elements so that neither sticks out like a sore thumb. If one takes over, the place becomes a mess.

Here’s how to get that balance.

One – Hardscaping Without Overwhelming the Space

Hardscaping is a must, but too much of it will make your backyard look like it belongs to a Disney villain. The key is to use it without overpowering the natural beauty of your space. One way to do this is by keeping all hardscape elements in proportion to the overall landscape. Instead of large areas of stone and concrete, go for smaller pathways, patios, and retaining walls that blend in with the rest of the backyard.

For example, you can have a stone walkway and line them with ornamental grasses. Or you can surround the patio with container plants and climbing vines.

Two – Softscaping for a Softer Look

Stone, brick, and concrete can make your backyard look almost industrial and the easiest way to counteract this is to use plants to break up solid surfaces and add a sense of movement. Shrubs, vines, and ground cover plants will soften the transition between hard and soft areas and make everything feel more natural.

Let’s say you’ve found some gravel for sale and you made a gravel driveway. If you line it with flowering shrubs, it’ll go from simple and basic to inviting and colorful.

Three – Keep a Functional and Aesthetic Ratio

If you have too many plants, maintenance is a nightmare. But if there’s too much hardscape, that’s not ideal, either. The general rule of thumb is to aim for a 60/40 split. What I mean by that is, you want about 60% of your backyard to be dedicated to softscaping, and the rest to hardscaping. This way, you have enough greenery to keep it looking fresh and lively, but there’s still enough structure and space that’s usable.

Of course, this rule isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind. If your yard is small, you might need more hardscaping to make it functional. If it’s bigger, you can afford to have more planting areas.

Four – Choose Complementary Colors and Textures

Color and texture are important for balance, too. Your hardscaping materials should either contrast or complement the plants around them so the look is cohesive and interesting. For instance, smooth modern stone goes great with delicate flowers. Or maybe you’d prefer rough-textured brick paired with bold green shrubs. If you have a light-colored path, you can border it with deep green evergreens to make it fresh and airy. If you have bright flowers, dark mulch will make them pop.

If you mix and match textures and colors properly, everything works together instead of competing for attention.

Five – Layered Heights for Cohesion

Randomly mixing plants and stone isn’t where it’s at. What you want is depth and dimension, and you do this by layering softscape elements at different heights. Tall trees are a backdrop, medium-sized shrubs are for structure, and low-growing flowers and ground cover plants give your yard a finished look.

When you’re layering around hardscaping features, the space won’t feel flat and too structured.

Six – Use Hardscape to Define Zones

Hardscaping can create distinct zones in your yard, which is very practical. A patio is a place for dining and entertaining, pathways guide movement and connect different areas, etc. The trick is to make all these spaces feel connected to the greenery around them.

If you have a stone patio, it will be a lot more inviting if you frame it with potted plants or flower beds. If you have a pergola, you might want to cover it with climbing vines. Hardscape zones should feel like they belong within the landscape, not stand apart from it.

Conclusion

A backyard that’s relaxing and pleasant to be in isn’t hard to create. It’s all about balancing some basic elements and, at the end of the day, your personal preference. If you like more structure, go with more hardscaping. If you like chaotic beauty, have a bunch of plants. Although… The latter will consume a lot of your time because of maintenance, but hey, you do you.

Regardless of what you choose to do, remember that the most important thing is that you enjoy your backyard, even if it doesn’t fit into a particular mold or breaks a few ‘rules’.