Landscape in your yard can be split into two categories the softscape which are the plants and hardscape which are the walls, rocks, fountains and accent lights that give character to your backyard. Erik Helland of Landscape Garden Centers, Sioux Falls says balancing the two is the key.
Hardscaping has become a very, very important element of landscaping. Hardscaping and balancing it with a soft scaping, that's where it's very, very important to try to balance because you don't want to be overwhelmed by one or the other, and you want to be able to consistently put something together that blooms through out the summer so you have things to enjoy while you sit on your bench and listen to your water feature which is a popular form of hardscape.
Erik there are so many options for hardscape so let your personnel preference guide you.
Hardscaping is one of those things that has become extremely popular, and there's so many different products that are out there. It's by your tastes. There's really no wrong ones, there's not right ones, but there's so many different things that are out there, but the most important thing to realize is that you really can't have good hardscaping unless you have good soft scaping or good plant material, the trees, the shade trees that help shade the patio, ornamental trees, the things that really help give you the backdrop, the grasses, the hydrangeas, all of those things now come all together into a beautiful landscape, which is the combination of both the hardscape and softscape.
If you have questions for Erik Helland, send them to: IntheMoment@sdpb.org. He may answer your question on-the-air during the South Dakota Home Garden segment, Wednesdays on SDPB Radio's "In the Moment."