making landscaping beautiful and beneficial

Having the right aesthetics and features in your yard landscaping can make the difference between your yard looking sloppy and overgrown or maintained and tidy. And using a series of hardscaping methods is a good way to improve your yard's design while keeping your yard elements within a sense of order and flow. The following are some recommendations to help you install attractive looking and functional paving options for your property's hardscaping.

Add in Permeable Pavers

When you want to provide a solid paved surface in your landscaping but you don't want harsh concrete surfaces that prevent good runoff from rains, you should look into adding pavers. Paving stones installed to create a permeable surface gives you the best of both worlds of a solid surface with full drainage capacity. In this type of design, you don't need to worry about your patio or driveway causing a flooding situation on your street or in your yard. Instead, the precipitation or sprinkler over-spray will simply seep into the soil through the permeable paver system.

Permeable pavers need to be installed over a bed of leveled gravel that will promote the drainage through the individual set paving stones. You can install the pavers in a variety of patterns and styles, depending on the look you want to create, filling in the spaces between pavers with gravel or soil and lawn. And with the option of adding in softscaping amidst the hardscaping pavers, you have the ability to cool the space and soften it with vegetation in the heat of the summer.

Install a Gravel Garden Pathway

Through your backyard area, you may want to plant a vegetable, flower, or rose garden to beautify your outdoor space. Within this addition, you may need to install a walkway through the vegetation. A walkway can prevent mud and dust coming up and can define the walkway separate from the vegetation area, which will help protect your prized rises or heirloom tomato plants from foot traffic.

You will need to excavate the pathway several inches to provide depth in which you can install and compact the gravel for your pathway. You can also use other elements besides aggregate for your hardscape material, such as shells, pea gravel, glass pebbles, or crushed granite. This gives visual interest to your garden while providing a pavement that is not plain or ordinary by any means. You can also install pavers set with your choice of ornamental glass pebbles or shells. Just be sure you take care of your garden pathway by cleaning up leaves and other debris that can accumulate.

For more information about your options, contact a local hardscape contractor.