As you mow your lawn on a hot day, you pause to mop your brow. Why am I even doing this? You think. Surely there’s something I could do with this space that doesn’t require so much work.
The good news is—there is!
Although there are many ways to design your outdoor space to reduce maintenance, the number one solution is to add hardscaping. After all, rock and hardscape features never need to be mowed, weeded, or watered.
Here at Tussey Landscaping, we love helping people design and create the backyard space they’ve been dreaming of. We believe your yard should inspire you to spend time outdoors. If it constantly feels like an eyesore or an embarrassment, something needs to change!
Today, we’ll explore low-maintenance backyard hardscaping ideas that will transform your outdoor living space into something both functional and beautiful, meaningful and stress-free.
Let’s get started!
What is Hardscaping, and How Does it Differ from Landscaping?
In your backyard, you might have trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants. These organisms, along with other organic components like soil and mulch, comprise your landscaping.
Hardscaping, on the other hand, encompasses the non-living, built elements of a landscape, such as patios, walkways, retaining walls, decks, gravel paths, and stones.
It’s common to use the word “landscaping” to refer to everything in the outdoor space, including both landscaping and hardscaping. For example, at Tussey Landscaping, our landscape services include hardscape projects such as patios, walkways, and even swimming pools.
However, it’s helpful to differentiate between hardscaping and landscaping because the two elements serve different functions in your outdoor space. Hardscapes offer dimension and structure to frame the landscaping, and they substantially reduce the overall maintenance of your outdoor spaces.
If you want to know more about hardscapes, we’ve written a helpful guide to hardscapes here!
Benefits of Choosing Low-Maintenance Hardscaping for Backyard Spaces
There are many benefits to building low-maintenance hardscapes in your backyard. Let’s explore them.
Practicality
At the end of the day, hardscapes are practical. Whether it’s a retaining wall that keeps the soil where you want it, a walkway that keeps people from traipsing through your garden beds, or a large patio where you can host a family gathering, hardscapes solve the real problems you encounter as you strive to make your backyard into an outdoor living space where you’ll truly enjoy spending time.
Beauty
Life can sometimes feel like a trade-off between what’s practical and what’s beautiful. For example, if you ripped up your entire lawn and replaced it with a concrete pad, you’d no longer have to mow, but your backyard would be much less aesthetically pleasing.
But as long as you don’t go to extremes, hardscapes not only add practicality, but beauty as well. Patios, retaining walls, pergolas, gazebos, benches, decorative rocks, pathways—all these elements add charm and dimension to your outdoor spaces.
Just take a look at the most beautiful gardens in the world, and notice how they all incorporate hardscaping!
Time Savings
Ultimately, low-maintenance hardscaping gives you more time. The less time you spend weeding, watering, and fussing with plants, the more time you’ll have to spend on what truly matters.
At this point, you’re probably wondering, Are all hardscapes low-maintenance? Or are there specific low-maintenance hardscape features I should consider?
That’s a tricky question. In general, most hardscapes are “low maintenance” in the sense that they take up space that would otherwise be used by fussy plants. But some hardscapes reduce overall backyard maintenance more than others.
Let’s explore some of the best low-maintenance hardscape options.
Top 4 Low-Maintenance Hardscaping Ideas
You want your backyard to be a place where you can relax, sipping iced tea, and swapping stories with friends—not a place you have to endlessly maintain.
Here are the top ways to accomplish that with hardscapes!
- Minimize your lawn with a patio area
If you get into the world of xeriscaping or lawn alternatives, you’ll find many ideas for ways to reduce the maintenance of your outdoor space by growing something other than grass in the open areas.
But there’s a big problem with this: where will your children run and play? Where will you set up tables if you want to host an event? No matter how you slice it, you need some sort of open, usable expanse.
Patios solve both problems. They reduce the size of your lawn, meaning you spend less time on mowing and maintenance, while also providing an open usable space for hanging out with your people.
Pro tip: If your patio feels too stark and clinical, add some potted plants, which add life and dimension but require much less maintenance than a whole garden bed.
2. Eliminate edging by creating a mowing strip
Sometimes it’s not the mowing that gets us—it’s the edging. As long as your yard isn’t too gargantuan, running a lawn mower over it might not be too difficult. But when you have to pull out the edge trimmer or weed whacker to get those stubborn tall bits at the edges, it can feel like far too much work.
One hardscape solution is to create a mowing strip at the perimeter of your lawn. Using recessed pavers or cement, create a barrier at the edge of the lawn, low enough to mow over, so you don’t have to worry about edging.
3. Raised beds
One way to reduce the overall lawn space, create height and dimension in your yard, and make your garden beds easier to maintain is to add raised beds.
Raised beds are generally easier to maintain for several reasons: you don’t have to bend over so far to work in them, you can fill the beds with good soil even if your yard soil is poor, and you can control the weeds with a weed barrier fabric.
You may have an idea of raised beds as ugly boxes for growing vegetables, but there are so many possibilities for beautiful raised beds! You can construct them from wood, pavers, stone, or even wicker, depending on your preferred look.
4. Paths
Finally, use charming hardscape pathways to reduce the maintenance in your outdoor spaces!
If you’re filling your yard space with patio areas, raised beds, or lawn alternatives, paths help reduce maintenance by giving people a designated space to get from one place to another without trampling on any delicate ground cover.
Even if your lawn is traditional grass, putting in paths can help keep the ground from becoming compacted by people running over it willy-nilly, ultimately helping the lawn flourish.
3 High-Maintenance Hardscapes to Avoid
Although most hardscapes reduce the overall maintenance of your backyard, there are a few exceptions. Some hardscapes are more work to maintain, and some materials are more high-maintenance than others.
If low-maintenance is your top priority, here are some hardscapes to avoid.
1. Water features
Ponds, pools, fountains, and other water features are beautiful additions to any backyard, adding a soothing tranquility. But they come with a downside, in that they require a lot of work to maintain.
(Note: if you’re on the fence about water features, you can read our Ultimate Guide to Water Features here!)
2. Wood structures
Hardscapes come in a variety of material options. For example, if you’re building a deck, you can construct it out of wood, or you could use an engineered wood product. If you’re buying a pergola, you’ll often have the option of wood or vinyl. Your raised beds might be made from stone, wood, or concrete blocks.
If you like the look of wood, that’s great! However, you should be aware that it’s more high-maintenance than other options, as it’s susceptible to rot, warping, and decay, and requires regular cleaning, sealing, and staining.
3. Spaces for weeds to grow
In general, when you’re considering various hardscape options, more cracks and crevices mean more upkeep and maintenance.
For example, a brick patio will have far more cracks for weeds to take root than a stamped concrete patio will. And a gravel area, while far easier to keep weed-free than dirt, will still grow weeds.
Keep this in mind when considering various options, and thoroughly seal any cracks if you’re using brick or pavers!
(Learn more about keeping hardscapes weed-free on our blog about weed control.)
Where to Find Quality Hardscaping Services in Central PA
Is your mind churning with wonderful ideas about how to turn your backyard into a beautiful, low-maintenance paradise?
If you live in central PA and are on the hunt for a landscaper who can construct your hardscape vision, look no further than Tussey Landscaping!
Our services include:
And so much more!
Contact us today to have a meaningful conversation about your vision.