Clark Kent Creations -- Swarthmore, PA. Landscape Design and Construction, Hardscaping, Patios
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What is Hardscaping?  A Basic Primer.  Act Like You Know.

9/6/2013

1 Comment

 
PictureElements of Hardscaping -- Patios, Pergolas, Stone Walls, Boulders ...
I’d like to take a small step backwards this week and talk about what I’ve always viewed as a basic term – “hardscaping”.

Being a veteran of the industry, it’s sometimes easy to forget that not all clients or prospects are tuned in to the trends and knowledge that I’m exposed to on a regular basis. Sometimes I’ll even mention a term that I assume is common knowledge, only to be met with confused looks that tell me I might as well be speaking Russian.

One term that I throw around regularly is hardscaping.  To me this is a basic term that I just assume everybody is familiar with.  But gauging from the responses I’ve seen, not everybody is.

In fact, it’s the one word that I use regularly and even my MS Word program insists on trying to catch it as a spelling
error.

But it is a real word. And it is just what it sounds like – landscaping with hard materials.  Stone, brick, blocks, concrete, etc.

Much the way that The Jeffersons were a spin-off of All in the Family or Laverne and Shirley was a spin-off of Happy Days, hardscaping is a spin-off of landscaping.

Mention landscaping to a handful of people, and you’ll probably conjure up images ranging from lawn mowing to mulching to tree-trimming to patio construction to pond maintenance – quite a wide range of services.  In fact, when I mention our company works in the landscape industry, I’m often confronted with requests to plant shrubs or mow lawns.

So the term hardscaping was developed to specifically refer to the “hard” portion of your landscape. Stone walls?  Check.  Flagstone patios?  Check. Brick walkways?  Check.  Ornamental boulders?  Check.

And if you think about it, this makes perfect sense.  Does the horticulture expert at the local garden nursery have the in-depth skills or knowledge that will help with your stone patio construction?  Perhaps they’ll be knowledgeable with a few of the basics, but just as you wouldn’t necessarily trust a brick mason with picking out the best shrub selections for your shade garden, a plant expert won’t most likely have the skills and knowledge to deliver a successful patio construction.

So hardscaping has evolved into a somewhat separate industry within the industry, if you will.

And on the flip side, the term “softscaping” has evolved to separately describe the portion of your landscape that remains “soft” – the beds and plantings to be specific.

All that’s not to say that many contractors and companies don’t do both.  Many do, but usually the larger companies will have separate divisions that handle the hardscaping and softscaping portions of your landscape.  Much the way that many general contractors have separate crews that handle the basic framing vs the finish and fixture duties for a structure or dwelling.

There’s other “scapings” that have evolved as well.  Aquascaping is the side of the business that centers around ponds and aquatic plantlife. Xeriscaping (from the Greek xeros, or “dry””) centers around landscaping with little use of water.  Roofscaping is landscaping on your roof.  Stonescaping is hardscaping to the next level, dealing only with natural stonework.  The list goes on, you get the idea.

So the next time you’re talking with someone and they mention the word hardscaping, you can carry on and perhaps even respond by telling them about that new patio you just had installed.  You’re now officially in the know.

And if you call the right contractor, you can even brag about what a great job that locally-owned-and-operated, super-responsive, personable, attentive-to-detail, company Clark Kent Creations did installing your new patio.  :)

Give us a call.  A free consultation is just a phone call away.

But just don't ask me to mow your lawn ...  :)

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    Clark Kent Creations, LLC is a full-service landscape construction company servicing the Pennsylvania communities of Delaware County, Chester County, The Main Line, and the University City, Art Museum, and Manayunk/Roxborough neighborhoods of Philadelphia.  In addition to this blog page, additional information regarding the company and our services can be found on the subsequent pages of the site.
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    Clark Linderman is the president of Clark Kent Creations, LLC, a landscape construction company based in Swarthmore, PA.  He is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.  In addition to his passion for all things outdoors, he counts Michigan football, Phillies baseball, Superman memorabilia, Memphis R&B music, and good craft brews among his many interests.  He currently resides in Swarthmore with his wife, Sheila, two sons, his dog Krypto, and a really, really messy garage full of work supplies and toys.

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    Contact Us:
    Clark Kent Creations, LLC
    Swarthmore, PA
    Design and Construction to Maximize Your Outdoor Experience

    707-290-9410
    [email protected]
    Serving Delaware County, PA

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    Like my Blog?

    If you like the content of my blog posts, here are a few other blogs that I check in on regularly:

    Stone Soup:  A Master Stone Mason shares his craft.

    Arcadia Gardens:  Plenty of great tips about horticulture and landscape design.  A great blog (even though she's an MSU Spartan!)

    Revolutionary Gardens:  A Virginia-based landscape designer shares his work and ideas.

    Rockin Walls:  A certified dry stone mason from Maryland shares his projects and tricks of the trade

    If you have or know of a blog that you think I might be interested in, just let me know.  If I like it I just may add it to the list!

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