Homeowners living in areas that do not receive much rainfall during the year have the challenge of beautifying grass with little or no grass. Hardscaping, which is a term used to describe the landscape with hard elements such as rocks and stone slabs, transforms a covered and smooth ground yard into a beautiful and useful outdoor living space.
Rock the walkway
The incorporation of a stone path into the courtyard is a decorative element that also provides a flat path. A rocky path at the front of the house increases the attractiveness and offers guests a solid surface to approach the door of their home. The stone slab works well as a material to create a stone path because it has rather flat sides. The small amount of textures or ridges along a paved surface creates a non-slip platform, making it an ideal stone for the lanes around a pool or outdoor living space, such as a patio.
Rip your lawn
Cutting the grass is a thing of the past for this family. Instead of sweating behind a lawnmower, they tore the grass and added a large stone patio to meet and entertain. The few small strips of grass that remain can easily be tamed in a few minutes with a manual lawnmower.
Stone garden
A stone garden has a visual and functional purpose: it acts as a focal point in your garden and can help create a quiet living room inside. You have the freedom to incorporate all the stones you want and organize them in the way that best suits your style. The installation of benches or large stone blocks in the rock garden provides seating so you can sit in the garden and enjoy its natural elements. You can enhance the tranquility of the rock garden by incorporating a water feature like a small waterfall, to add the relaxing sound of running water.
Widen a Path
If you have an existing garden path, it is advisable to double or triple its dimensions to eliminate lawn activities and have more space to live. Here, a slab path connecting the side and back of the house has been extended to create a cozy and low-maintenance corridor. The space is now large enough to accommodate large flower pots.
Spread Out
Do not skimp when adding a deck or patio. The more space you can cover, the more you will be happy. Not only will you have less grass to cut, you can also add more comfortable and large furniture. This generously sized patio leaves plenty of room for large outdoor wicker furniture.
Swim, Do not mow
Even the small yards can be transformed into the likeness of a luxury resort. In this suburban courtyard, a small piece of grass has been replaced by an irregularly shaped pool on the floor that connects four small areas of entertainment. What once was a patch of grass is now the hub of family fun.
Terrace a slope
Have you ever tried to push a lawnmower up and down a steep hill on a hot day? It’s not fun Instead, the owners of this sloping yard terraced their entire backyard, leaving only a blade of grass at the top to face. The rest of the space was contained with a massed stone wall and boulders. A pressed concrete patio offers enough space for outdoor dining.
Consider a patio
Before this patio was renovated, the only view was of a green lawn that was fading and struggling to survive under the nearby trees. But the help came when the owners replaced the tired lawn with a gravel patio punctuated by circular concrete slabs. The result? A cozy and low-maintenance patio that looks good from ground level as from above.
Creek Bed
Building a bed of a dry stream of smooth river stones across your lawn creates a sense of movement. The advantage of a dry bed is that it works on flat or mountainous terrain. If your garden is flat, you can improve the flow of the stream by continually creating “S” shapes. Around a river of fluvial rock a colored stone with a courtyard full of contrasting pebbles creates depth and brings out the current as a main feature. You can also add half the big blocks along or into the dry creek bed to perfectly mimic a stream bed.
Paver Patio
The installation of a large paver yard is a hardscape option that covers a large amount of land and is extremely useful. The flat surfaces of paving stones allow you to create more living space by adding outdoor furniture such as a dining room, a barbecue and a drinks bar. If you want the patio to be as appealing as it is functional, use a variety of different colored blocks in a striking design
Keep the seasons in mind
Always remember that the less lawn you have, the more time you will have to enjoy life outdoors. Therefore, it is important to consider the seasons when planning your own backyard. Here, for example, the owners knew they wanted to enjoy their garden as much as possible in the fall, so they surrounded their stone patio with shrubs and trees that offered a bold color in the fall. Also included a portable heater to warm up the cold nights.
Mix materials
Small spaces should not look small if you’re smart when you mix flooring materials. A narrow courtyard seems much larger than it actually is because the bricks have been placed in different complementary patterns that attract attention in space. The two small courtyards are separated by a strip of cement that creates the illusion that the area is doubled.
Plant a garden
Why not put your garden at work for you? Replace your lawn that consumes a lot of time with a garden as attractive as edible. Here, a narrow strip of grass was removed and a beautiful orchard was added in its place. Rows of lettuce, cabbage, beans and other colorful crops offer interest and many delicious dishes.
Deck the Yard
If you have a wet or uneven ground, why not cover the area and sell your lawn mower at your next garage sale? Here, a shady and muddy courtyard was given dry standing with the addition of a large raised bridge. The elimination of mowing and weeding activities gives the family much more time to relax together in their raised courtyard.
Grow flowers, not grass
Keeping the lawn in good condition requires a lot of work and uses precious resources: fertilizers, water, herbicides and gas for the mower. Instead of spending time and money just to keep the lawn happy, why not grow flowers instead? Here, a piece of grass difficult to cut on a hill in the backyard has been replaced by a magnificent collection of roses, vines and perennial flowers. The garden provides the family with many fresh flowers and keeps the neighbor’s birds and butterflies fed. You can get any garden merchandise and Growace.com has everything you may need.
Plan family fun
The simple fact of removing the grass is not enough to turn your garden into a place of exposure. You should think about how you want to use the space and build the landscape around the needs of your family. For example, in this courtyard, the lawn was covered with large concrete slabs separated by a few centimeters. Then, the family added a beautiful stucco fireplace to provide a visual anchor for the patio. The fireplace encourages the family to spend more time together after sunset.
Live like a native
Take the natural signs of your mother when you plan your garden. Instead of a well-tended lawn, use native shrubs, wild flowers and stones to create a natural appearance. In this courtyard, a cascade of granite drips slowly through mixed beds of wild and domestic plants. Maintenance is minimal and the garden seems to have always been there.