If you are looking to add upgrades to your landscape, whether for your own personal wants or to prepare to sell your home, consider hardscaping improvements. To maximize your investment, think of hardscaping as a way to improve your property so that it is more “green” and low maintenance. The key is to blend the living environment with hardscaping elements so that they benefit wildlife and provide healthy outdoor spaces.

4 ways to add hardscaping to your landscape

Walkways

Add a gravel or paved walkway through your garden. This allows you to enjoy the garden with a material that is low-impact. When choosing gravel or natural stone as the material for your walkway, you can avoid the harsh chemicals that are found in asphalt and use a more environmentally-friendly surface compared to concrete. Plus, gravel and natural stone have naturally high permeability rates so water can flow through them instead of as run-off, helping to minimize erosion.

Patios

Get rid of the concrete pad and install a patio with flagstone that is low maintenance and gorgeous. This is a luxury that is hot in today’s marketplace. Flagstone is natural so it works well in blending your outdoor area with the surrounding environment. And if you convert a place where grass is hard to grow for your new patio, you can further maximize your outdoor space with a low-input material that reduces your maintenance. You’ll have more time to relax and less time needing to mow, weed, seed, or otherwise waste your energy maintaining the area.

Retaining Walls

Stone retaining walls are some of the best ways to help conserve water and minimize soil erosion in your landscape. By adding a drywall stone wall to a sloping area, you can better control erosion while using a material that is hard and durable. Plant some low maintenance groundcover behind the wall and you’ll have a feature that can be appreciated for years.

Garden Features

Incorporating in stone water fountains or ponds can help attract wildlife while also filling in areas that minimize your maintenance. Interspersing stone garden features in your landscape can help reduce the need to buy plants and other landscaping products, and they are durable and long-lasting. Consider constructing a pond that is surrounded by various sizes of boulders or riverrock, or design a water fountain with thin stone veneer.

It’s important to blend your hardscaping in with your natural landscape to maximize value in your home. People want to see something that is appealing besides being “green”. Too much greenery can be intimidating to a person who doesn’t want to spend all their time in the garden, while too much “hardscaping” can be overly intimidating to someone who wants to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.

Fieldstone Center, Inc. has stone products for all your landscaping needs. Contact us at 770-385-7708. We can help you decide on the best upgrades to add to your landscape with the right stone for an amazing result!

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Good planning is needed to add the proper balance in material and style. You should understand the size of the project so you can select the right materials. Some projects are smaller in scope and others larger.

3 Hardscaping Ideas

Functional Patios

A patio is the backbone of your outdoor living space. It is the gathering place for friends and family to enjoy the outdoors. It compliments your landscape by creating a transition from the inside to the outside. With hardscaping, you can add function with a relaxing sitting or eating area. Frame your area with a rock wall and use your natural landscape as the backdrop.

Since your patio will be an area of high traffic, flagstone is a favorite choice for the surface. It is durable and low maintenance. It is a good option no matter what size area you are working with. And the natural color hues help to transition from indoors to outdoors while providing many ways to be creative with the stone’s numerous patterns and uses. Mix in thin stone veneer when building luxury features like an outdoor kitchen or fireplace. And add in drystack stone for a bar.

Low Maintenance Lawn

Replacing portions of your grass with hardscape materials is becoming increasingly popular. Besides decreasing your maintenance and conserving on your watering needs, aggregates like river rock, pea gravel, and crushed granite can be a beautiful compliment to the rest of your landscaping.

You may already have an area where the grass is difficult to grow. Think of how much easier it would be and better it would look if you didn’t have to struggle with caring for those bare patches. Instead, redefine the area with stone or aggregates. If the area gets a lot of traffic, you can design a wide gravel area bordered by low maintenance plants or beds. For an area that is not used often, spread pea gravel and add iron or wicker furniture for a cozy resting place.

Walkways

A stone walkway can compliment a landscape by bringing diversity and creating a natural flow for traveling through an area. There are a number of hardscape materials with different shapes and sizes to compliment every type of outdoor environment. Design a simple gravel path for low maintenance and quick access through a landscape area. Or design an intricate stone walkway that leisurely winds through a garden with several drystacked stone water features and other points of interest. Plan a rock retaining wall as an added feature to compliment a property boundary. Your options are plentiful.

To design the best compliment for your landscape, the amount and type of hardscaping you add should blend with the surrounding area. You don’t want to overpower a quaint, cottage garden. Although you can still add in a strong structure such as a stone fireplace or wall to a small area, be creative with the greenery hanging or growing alongside the structures so that you maintain the cozy feeling. A scenic landscape that has more open space or a grand view is typically more suitable for standalone hardscape feature that creates a statement.

When you are ready to add in hardscaping to your landscape, Fieldstone Center has the natural stone, thin stone veneer, aggregates, and other materials for your project. Contact us at 770.385.7708 for more information.

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3 Different Stones for Patio Projects

Flagstone

A favorite choice for homeowners, flagstone is noted for its loose grains and rough texture and admired for its color variations and limitless pattern options. It looks good on both small and large surfaces. Select uniform shapes to create a pattern or irregular cuts for a more random appearance. Color options include red, pink, orange, brown, blue, green, gold and gray. It’s easy to use because of its flat cut surface and ideal for high traffic areas because of its non-slip surface. Since water permeates through it instead of running off, it is a good choice near pools and water features.

Granite

Known for its versatility, granite cobblestones add an authentic charm to patios. Granite is nonporous so it resists staining. It requires very little maintenance. Because of its hardness, you can’t beat its durability in landscape design. The downside is it can be quite pricey so it is often more practical for smaller patios or combined with other surface materials. Mix and match black and grey colors and lay the cobblestones in a pattern to create a stunning patio design. Or add a cobblestone walkway with a patio seating area that is surrounded by gravel and plants for a natural look.

Gravel

An easy choice for the do-it-yourselfer, small aggregates such as pea gravel can help transform your patio area to one reminiscent of a cottage garden or courtyard. While aggregates are easy to put down and inexpensive, more maintenance is required over time compared to most stone. This is especially true in high traffic areas where gravel can get dislodged to create a messy look. It is great for drainage but can be difficult to walk on; therefore, consider adding in some stepping stones.

Mixing Materials for Your Patio

Consider the different affects large flagstone will have on a space compared to smaller granite cobblestones or gravel. Mixing and matching two or more types of stone together can increase your possibilities. For example, use flagstone for larger areas of a patio that lead up to a more intimate area set in a pattern of cobblestones for a dramatic effect. Or add aggregates or cobblestones around the edge of a flagstone pool area for variance. Aggregates or groundcover plants can also be used to fill in spaces between flagstone or cobblestones for a relaxing lounge area.

Whether you are designing an intimate gathering place or an expansive area with a pool, choose the best quality natural stone for long-lasting beauty. Fieldstone Center has a wide selection of natural stone for your patio project. Contact us at 770.385.7708 to arrange to see our selection or for more information.

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