As my 2 year old son would ask while holding out a half chewed pickle, “Whata. Is. It?”. In this article I will briefly point out the different elements of landscaping, define Hardscape, and why it is important to have a specialist for any service you are in need of.
Landscaping around your Home and Its Elements
Landscape, generally, breaks down into four major elements; Hardscape, Softscape, Aquascape, Firescape. These elements may commingle to create a balance in the ambiance of your landscape. Each of these elements are often broken down into more specific components. For instance, softscape can be broken down into horticulture, trees, grade, turf, planter beds, mulches, etc.
Hardscape?…uhhhh?
Identifying and defining the elements of landscape can be difficult at first because one element of landscape can also be and contain the other elements. Hardscape is unique among the elements in the fact that, here in the Fargo/Moorhead metro, these other elements often do not function without it for long. That bullet edging around your house that prevents the weeds from invading; that’s a small hardscape element. Hardscape in the Red River Valley most often includes elements of your landscape that have very hard surfaces, typically made of concrete or stone, and have a structural component to them. Check our Hardscape and Renewal Services page to get an idea of what is hardscape in the Fargo/Moorhead area, although it’s not limited to that list and neither are our services.
You’re a What? A Hardscaper?
Choosing a specialist to perform a given service for us usually gives us the best results, and the best value for our dollar. We do this all the time in our daily lives. We go to sandwich shops to have sandwich artists to make our lunch and dealerships to fix our particular car brand. When it comes to building our homes, we have framers, drywallers, roofers, electricians, plumbers, and so on. How do these specialists exist? Specialists develop unique knowledge and skill sets that a generalist can not develop. Generalists simply spend too much time doing everything to master one thing. The mastery of the nuances of their trade allows them to solve the unique problems of a given project and be more efficient with their labor. This gives you fair prices through efficiency and better quality through mastery of a skill set. Landscapers may do hardscapes, but may not be Hardscapers. I put band-aids on my son’s cuts and scrapes, but I am not a doctor. This is how some Landscapers evolved into Hardscapers.
Closing
I hope this short article has helped you expand your understanding and perspective about Hardscape and trade specialty; why it’s important as a specialty to give you quality and value. If you have any questions, my contact information is on our webpage. www.ArtisanHardscapes.net
