A house exterior looks incomplete without a well-designed landscape. Landscaping is composed of two main features: hardscaping and softscaping. Hardscaping includes all the walkways, driveways, retaining walls, and stonework, while softscaping encompasses the living elements like the grass, plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs.
Softscaping can enhance your property’s overall design. The plants, trees, and flowers create a perfect canvas for any home style. Without these horticultural elements, the yard will look dull. If you’re searching for an eco-friendly way to make your property stand out, softscaping is the way to go. That said, here are seven more ways softscaping enhances your property design:
1. Keeps The Yard Well-Maintained
A well-maintained property looks elegant and full of life. Softscaping brings out the best in a yard. Although growing plants can take a lot of effort, the beauty it brings to the home exterior is unmatched. It also shows how well the property is taken care of.
One softscaping element becoming popular today is mulch. Some homeowners choose to replace their lawn grass with mulch or an organic soil cover to grow plants and prevent them from drying out fast. It’s an excellent option for your next landscaping project, especially if you’re looking for a low-maintenance solution.
2. Adds Life And Color
A plain, all-stone, and concrete yard looks lifeless and lacks vibrance. For this reason, balancing hardscaping and softscaping is a must. Horticultural elements bring life and color to the property that no amount of intricate stonework can match.
Adding living elements is the best way to incorporate vibrant colors into your property. It can also be a fulfilling landscaping project as you see the plants and flowers grow as you exert effort to care for them. Seeing your vision come to life makes these living details in your yard extra special and memorable.
3. Increases Curb Appeal
The landscape is one of the first things passerby notice when they walk past your property. It sets the exterior vibe and determines how inviting the home is. Therefore, your property’s outstanding curb appeal is something worth investing in.
Elegant softscaping shows attention to detail, upgrading your property’s curb appeal. Choosing the most suitable plants to match the environment and home exterior creates visual harmony and balance.
Softscaping makes your home stand out in the neighborhood. Whether you’re selling the property or sprucing it up to make life more comfortable and relaxing, investing time, effort, and money in softscaping is worth it.
4. Maintains Ecological Balance
Living in harmony with nature is one way to live peacefully and comfortably. One effective way to help your home blend in with the natural environment is through softscaping. Different plants allow microorganisms to grow and prosper in your yard, which helps maintain ecological balance.
Your choice of plants significantly impacts the environment. It’s best to research the native plant species in your area to find the most suitable ones. This way, you can avoid planting invasive ones. Growing native plant species can also support other living organisms like bees, butterflies, and microscopic life. With softscaping, you’re making your yard a perfect home for wonderful organisms.
5. Creates A Relaxing Atmosphere
A relaxing outdoor atmosphere makes a property feel more homely. There’s nothing more comforting than opening your windows in the morning and seeing the greeneries and vibrant blooms in your yard. This reason makes softscaping the perfect addition to your property design.
Plants and flowers can help improve your mood. The relaxing atmosphere they create can help alleviate stress and make you feel relaxed and secure. Incorporating them into your home exterior makes the environment calm. Moreover, plants and trees can increase the oxygen levels in your area. They can help improve the air quality and lower the temperature during a hot summer.
6. Improves Yard Soil Structure
Bare soil is prone to erosion, especially in a typhoon-prone area. With heavy rains, the ground slowly washes away from your property. While building retaining walls can prevent this problem, softscaping also plays a significant part in solving it.
Softscaping can improve your yard’s soil structure. One way to do it is to apply mulch on the surface. Mulching or adding a layer of organic matter on the topmost layer of the soil seals in moisture, preventing erosion. On top of it, mulch can also hinder weed growth, so your yard is easier to maintain.
7. Serves As A Seasonal Exterior Feature
Maintaining permanent elements in your property brings stability. However, changing some features throughout the year to match the seasons adds more fun and life. Softscaping allows you to achieve natural seasonal aesthetics.
Plants grow depending on the environment that suits them. For instance, evergreens can withstand harsh winters but may not survive high temperatures. On the other hand, some fruit-bearing plants flourish during summer. In this case, you can grow specific plants in different seasons, which changes the ambiance of your property throughout the year.
Conclusion
Softscaping enhances your property design by adding life, color, elegance, and calmness. Incorporating living elements bring out the best in your home exterior as they create harmony and balance.
