Professional landscaping by Vision Landscape & Construction in San Diego can have a tremendous effect on the look and appearance of your residence. Even the smallest front or backyard can shine when it’s professionally outfitted with just the right above-ground or in-ground landscaping features. Some landscaping features are seasonal; however, certain permanent features remain unchanged and always provide aesthetic appeal and functional usefulness.
If you’re in the San Diego area, your best choice for a hardscaping and landscaping company is Vision Landscape & Construction. Our landscape and construction team has the expertise, knowledge, and experience to design and complete even the most extensive custom projects. And in all cases, we combine this skill with top-quality customer service and respect for your bottom line.
What Are Hardscaping and Landscaping and the benefits?
Landscaping applies broadly to any purposeful alteration of the grounds on a piece of property. Homeowners often have landscaping work done primarily for aesthetic reasons. However, in some cases, it mainly serves a functional purpose (such as providing drainage or holding soil in place in steep areas). In many cases, the most successful landscaping projects seamlessly combine aesthetic and functional considerations.
Landscape professionals divide landscaping into two general categories: softscape and hardscape. The term softscape applies to all the living and horticultural elements in a landscaping layout, including flowers, flower beds, shrubs, and other plants. The term also refers to the activities used to control the health and appearance of these living elements (e.g., mowing, planting, trimming, watering, and feeding).
In contrast, hardscape includes the inanimate, unchanging elements of a landscaping layout. This category gets its name because the materials used to create hardscapes are solid and durable. Common examples of these materials include wood (as opposed to living trees or shrubs) and forms of masonry, for example, brick, concrete, and stone. In addition, some hardscaping projects utilize metal as a primary or secondary material. Finally, landscaping includes any structure with subterranean (i.e., underground or partially underground) elements.
Types of Hardscaping Projects
With the help of our contractor, you can actualize almost any design and create a functional, aesthetically pleasing front or back yard that increases your enjoyment of your property and makes your property more valuable. For convenience, we sometimes divide hardscaping projects according to their required primary materials. However, we can use these materials in any combination needed to achieve your desired objective.
Wood-Based Projects
At Vision Landscape & Construction, we commonly use wood to make various decorative and functional hardscaping features. Familiar examples include wooden fences used to mark the boundary of your yard and wooden decks used to form outdoor recreational spaces. Your plans may also include wooden gazebos that combine outdoor beautification with functional seating and wooden arbors, lattices, or pergolas that serve as a framework for vines and other live landscaping elements.
Masonry-Based Projects
We use masonry for an even broader range of hardscaping projects than wood. The list of potential projects in this category includes:
● Patios made from brick, tile, flagstone, or concrete.
● Walkways made from any of these same materials.
● Gravel walkways.
● Stone, brick, or concrete retaining walls.
● Stone, brick, or concrete steps.
In addition, most landscaping projects utilize some masonry as their primary material.
Metal-Based Projects
The most common form of metal hardscaping is the steel, aluminum, or wrought-iron edging used to mark the borders of flowerbeds and other softscaping installations. This edging sometimes acts primarily as a low retaining wall for organic materials such as soil and mulch. However, edging also comes in highly decorative forms, adding considerable beauty to your yard. Other hardscaping options with metal as the primary material include wrought-iron fences, gates, trellises, and furniture.
Landscaping Projects
Hardscaping becomes landscaping whenever the material used sits in or against the ground instead of at ground level or higher. The best example of this subcategory is a retaining wall that holds back the earth at a significant drop-off in your yard’s elevation. Depending on the project’s details, the installation of a decorative pond, pool, or fountain may also qualify as a form of landscaping.
Water Features
Although made primarily from masonry materials, we commonly group water features in their own hardscaping category. This popular category includes small-scale projects such as birdbaths and certain fountains, ponds, pools, and waterfalls. Water features can also include more extensive projects such as artificial creeks, larger fountains, waterwalls, pools, and ponds. Many water features require excavation during installation, although some are completely above ground.
Vision Landscape & Construction Service areas include San Diego, La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Rancho Santa Fe, Downtown San Diego, Mission Valley, South San Diego, East San Diego and throughout San Diego County.