Create A Lush Outdoor Space With These Soft Landscaping Tips
Successful garden designs require two main components – hard and soft landscaping. The contrast between both kinds of landscaping creates a cohesive appearance, offering a combination of aesthetics and functionality that is highly valuable in any outdoor space.
Soft landscaping refers to all the living elements within your garden, such as the plants, flowers, trees, and even turfing. In contrast, hardscaping refers to the surfacing, such as paving, decking, and patios.
In this guide, we are focusing on soft landscaping to help you bring your garden to life and create an environment that thrives throughout the seasons.
As experienced landscapers, Taming Mother Nature has a wealth of experience in planting, garden design, and maintenance, allowing us to share the very best soft landscaping tips to create a thriving outdoor space.
The Benefits Of Soft Landscaping: Why It Matters
Soft landscaping is a vital part of garden design and is often required to create a beautiful outdoor space. The natural elements of landscaping offer a range of benefits and require some careful attention to create your dream outdoor space.
Everything from the plants you choose to the maintenance required to upkeep your garden can be extremely advantageous for your outdoor space, offering benefits such as:
- Better Visual Appeal: The main benefit of soft landscaping is the fact it creates a beautiful garden. Flowers, shrubs, and plants contribute to an attractive outdoor space that changes with the seasons and offers a beautiful display throughout the year.
- Improves Air Quality and Biodiversity: Plants are not just great for the visual appeal of your garden, but they can also contribute to better health and well-being through improved air quality. Many plants and trees release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide and other harmful toxins from the air, creating a cleaner environment for us all.
- Supports Healthy Soil: Plants and shrubs can contribute to better soil conditions, making it easier to keep your garden healthy and attractive. Plants can reduce soil erosion, and the more care you give them, the better the soil condition will be, ensuring your garden is always fertile.
Soft Landscaping Ideas For Any Garden
With a clearer understanding of what soft landscaping is and the benefits it can provide, it is time to consider making changes to your own outdoor space. As a leading landscaper and garden designer, we appreciate that no two gardens are alike, which is why we are sharing a wide range of soft landscaping ideas.
No matter the kind of garden design you want to create, there are various ways soft landscaping can complement, enhance and improve your environment. Whether you have a small urban courtyard garden or a sprawling country estate, there are various soft landscaping ideas you can incorporate, such as:
Use Trees and Shrubs For Structure
Soft landscaping does not necessarily have to be wild or gentle, as it can also be a great way to add structure to your outdoor space. Using evergreen shrubs, such as privet or yew, can be a creative way to ensure your garden remains structured and private throughout the year.
Shrub sand trees can be incredibly useful at blocking overlooking neighbours or other privacy issues, without compromising the appeal of your outdoor space.
Those seeking to create a cohesive and uniform garden design should rely on evergreen shrubs and trees, as opposed to deciduous options. However, deciduous plants such as beech trees or wisteria can still offer structure, but will change with the seasons so your garden always looks different.
Colourful Planting Borders
One of the simplest and most common ways to incorporate soft landscaping into your garden is through borders. Borders of flowers, plants, or ornamental grasses can make your garden an attractive, thriving environment without requiring much space.
Bordering the main lawn, patio or paved areas – including driveways – with flowers and plants offers a beautiful contrast that looks great in all environments.
To ensure that your garden is always thriving and looking its best, use a combination of annuals and perennials. The alternating blooming patterns and return cycles of these plants will ensure that your garden always has some colour and interest throughout the year, and that you have something to return to after a dormant season.
Add Movement With Grasses
Grass is not just the foundation for your main lawn area, but it can also be a decorative element in your garden. Ornamental grasses, such as reed grass, pampas grass, and silvergrass, can be a great way to add movement and sway to your garden.
Combined with plants of varying heights, this can be a beautiful display and is particularly popular in contemporary garden designs.
Planters And Raised Beds
Soft landscaping does not have to be a permanent addition to your garden design, as you can customise and move it to suit your needs when planting in pots. Raised planters, decorative pots, and containers can be a great way to add some colour, texture or movement to the garden without the commitment.
Pots and containers are particularly useful for areas such as patios and decking, as they can be used to adorn the main seating areas of your outdoor space. They can also be used as pathway decoration or in small gardens where ground space is at a premium.
Use a combination of flowers, plants, and ornamental grasses to create unique displays and ensure there are corners of interest across the garden.
Soft Landscaping Without The Work: Low Maintenance Gardens
While a large portion of soft landscaping is focused on the maintenance and care your garden needs, we appreciate that this is not suitable for everyone. If you are managing a busy family home, your work schedule and other commitments, you probably do not have time to tend to your garden.
This does not mean you have to miss out on the amazing benefits of soft landscaping, as there are many low-maintenance options. For example, relying on native plants is a great way to ensure your landscape thrives without the additional support. These plants and flowers can organically be found in local conditions, and therefore do not need any additional care to continue their growth cycles in your garden.
Likewise, relying on drought-resistant plants is a great way to reduce the garden maintenance needed to keep your outdoor space attractive without missing out on the benefits of soft landscaping. Adding these to planters and pots makes them easier to manage and, therefore, a great option for those seeking a low-maintenance, but attractive outdoor environment.
Create Your Dream Outdoor Space With Taming Mother Nature
As a premier garden design and landscaping company, Taming Mother Nature has the skills and experience necessary to create your dream outdoor space. Whether you are seeking a wild, natural haven or a low-maintenance family hub, we can work with all requirements.
Working with professionals like our team for soft landscaping not only makes the process easier, as we rely on our experience and industry connections to deliver the best design to your outdoor space, but also ensures your garden looks great. We take the time to understand your requirements and desires, allowing us to create a personalised garden design that perfectly aligns with your home, family and personal style.
As well as planting and design, we offer garden maintenance to ensure your landscape continues to thrive throughout the year. Even if you do not have the time or skills required to create a beautiful garden, we do and are available to help throughout the seasons.
Conclusion
Soft landscaping is an integral part of great garden design, and there are many options to support all requirements. With soft landscaping ideas such as using shrubs for structure or relying on flower pots for colour and flexibility, you can create a stunning outdoor space that changes with the seasons and brings joy to the whole family.
Taming Mother Nature is here to be your partner in all your landscaping needs. We offer a range of landscaping services, including garden design and maintenance, to keep your outdoor space in prime condition throughout the year.
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