Landscape and Hardscape Glossary: Key Terms for Your Outdoor Project

Hardscape

Your outdoor canvas, hardscape refers to the non-living elements in your landscape design. These can include patios, pathways, retaining walls, and other structural features that provide form and function to your outdoor spaces. Hardscape components often serve as the foundation for showcasing the softscape (plants and vegetation). Whether it’s a finely crafted patio for outdoor dining or a stately retaining wall that defines your garden, hardscape elements are essential in creating the perfect balance of beauty and functionality.

Patio

Your open-air living room, a patio is a crafted outdoor space where relaxation, entertainment, and everyday life come together. It’s a flat, paved area usually made of materials like pavers, natural stone, or concrete. Patios can be as simple as a cozy nook for morning coffee or as expansive as an outdoor dining area for family gatherings and soirées with friends. The design possibilities are endless, from sleek, modern aesthetics to rustic, natural charm. The key is to create a space that seamlessly connects with your home and landscape, turning your outdoor area into a functional, inviting, and stylish extension of your living space. Whether it’s a firepit for cozy evenings or an outdoor kitchen for culinary adventures, your patio can become the heart of your home’s outdoor experience.

Seating Wall

A charming companion to your patio, a seating wall is a low wall built along the perimeter or within the patio itself. It’s more than just a place to sit; it defines your patio’s edges, providing a sense of enclosure, comfort, and a visual focal point. Seating walls can be designed for functional seating or as decorative additions to your outdoor space. They’re often complemented with comfortable cushions and pillows, creating inviting alcoves for conversations, relaxation, and taking in the view.

Outdoor Kitchen

Culinary delights under the open sky, an outdoor kitchen is a testament to your love for outdoor living. It’s more than just a grill – it’s a complete cooking and entertainment area. An outdoor kitchen typically includes a grill, countertops for food preparation, storage space, and sometimes even appliances like sinks, refrigerators, and ovens. Imagine grilling with the family, sipping wine with friends, and serving up gourmet meals in your beautiful outdoor oasis.

Firepit

Your outdoor heartwarmer, a firepit is a gathering place for stories, laughter, and warmth. It can be a freestanding feature or integrated into your patio design. Firepits come in various styles, from rustic, wood-burning models to sleek gas-powered designs. We can install any style of your choosing, as well as lay a patio to support the firepit and make hosting easier. They provide a focal point and create a cozy ambiance, perfect for cool evenings and starry nights. Your patio’s firepit is where memories are made, and the dancing flames become the storytellers of your outdoor adventures.

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Arbor

Nature’s embrace, an outdoor structure with open arms, inviting climbing plants to create living art and shaded beauty.

Berm

Earth’s gentle wave, an elevated mound that adds drama and form to your landscape, preventing soil erosion and water runoff.

Edging

Nature’s boundaries, an elegant framing of your garden, pathways, or lawns, keeping unruly weeds at bay and style in play. We use solid edging to keep our patios locked in place to stand the test of time.

Gazebo

A haven of charm, a freestanding outdoor sanctuary with a sheltering roof, where dreams are made, and memories bloom. We can design and build a custom gazebo, or install a kit that you buy from a local store like our Costco in Avon.

Landscape Design

The art of creating outdoor stories, a symphony of plants, pathways, and structures that form an inviting and harmonious tale. We will work with local certified Landscape Designers to bring your backyard dreams to life.

Mulch

Nature’s blanket, a protective coverlet of wood chips or leaves that keeps your soil comfortable and weed-free, like a cozy quilt. We are happy to provide mulching services to any home in the area. We also pick up and delivery, plus haul away old materials so you don’t have a mess to deal with.

Pavers

The building blocks of your outdoor living space dreams. Patio pavers are sturdy, flat stones or blocks that pave the way to your perfect patio, walkway, or garden path. We used lifetime guaranteed pavers made by Hessit Pavers. These pavers are made with a much higher quality than you will get from Menards or Lowe’s.

Retaining Wall

Your landscape’s guardian, a wall that holds back the earth’s embrace, sculpting your terrain with grace and resilience. We can build you a custom retaining wall and even include patio seating or a custom grill enclosure. We also develop water management strategies to ensure your wall lasts over 30 years.

Zoning

The rules of your green world, and local regulations that guide the land’s use, construction, and landscaping, ensure a harmonious environment. We can work with the local goverment that you live in (many of our customers are in Hendricks County) to get you the correct permits to ensure your project is accepted by the community.

View our patio and landscaping work

Here are additional photos of patios and landscaping services we have installed for great customers in communities around Indianapolis like Carmel, Brownsburg, Danville, Avon & Plainfield.