What is Landscaping and Why it is Important?

     Proper landscaping can provide a beautiful setting for a building and also increases the comfort of the residents by providing shade and windbreaks and by screening of undesirable views.

Poor arrangement of the landscape can highly decrease the value of a well-designed building.

Landscaping Architecture deals with land-planning such as building sites, gardens, outdoor-living areas, playgrounds, and parks. Landscaping requires knowledge of design and construction that overlaps in the fields of architecture, horticulture, botany and other practices involve science and arts.

Landscaping Example with Pool

Landscape design comprises of many projects such as parks, greenhouses, gardens, sports sites, and large estates that include housing developments, business parks, universities and so on. It is also used to improve contaminated sites to help moderate the loss of an environment that may result from new development.

Landscaping can help soften spaces between buildings, can provide a route for people, can provide space for gardening and also help improve environmental quality.

A well maintained and beautifully designed landscape design can attract people to the site which helps to create a positive impact on the property.

Landscape designs are of two types - Softscape or soft landscape and Hardscape or hard landscape.

Softscape

     The soft landscape includes all types of services and installations of all varieties of plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, and other organic materials. Softscape services include landscape architecture, design, tree installations, ornamental bed, landscape renovation, and planning for estates and large residencies.

Soft Landscape

This landscape designs naturally changes and emerges over time, driven by the climate, time of the year and other conditions.

Careful attention should be given to the maintenance that these elements will require to stay in good order.

Hardscape

     Hard landscape elements are hard and unchanging, although they may be mobile and adaptable to the environment.

Hardscape services include stonework such as outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, retaining walls, fire pits, walkways, gazebos, fences and so on. Water features such as fountains, ponds, dry river beds, waterfalls are also considered as hardscapes, which slightly affects the soft environment.

Hard Landscape

Some of the popular landscaping elements are discussed briefly below:

Green Roofs

     Green roofs are roofs that are purposely fitted or cultivated with vegetation and also known by the names living roofs and eco-roofs.

Green Roofs

Green roofs also consist of green walls which are very popular among landscape designs that provide enormous visual pleasure.

Fountains

     A fountain is an architectural feature that can either pour water into the basin to create a 'waterfall effect' or spray water into the air to create a 'jet effect'. These are often used as decorative features in gardens and public areas.

Fountain

There are various types in fountains like drinking fountains which provide drinking water in public areas, special musical fountains which is a combination of lights, music and moving water jets for entertaining purposes. Splash fountains are commonly used in public areas to create interaction among people.

Blue Roofs

     A blue roof is designed to retain or to collect the rainwater above the roof. These roof types are opposite to convention roof types which allow the rainwater to drain from the roofs.

Rain Gardens

     It is a small garden which is designed to withstand the moisture extremities and the concentrations of nutrients that are found in rainwater runoffs. This type of rain gardens are sited close to the runoff source and serve to slow the rainwater as it travels downhill.

Rain Garden

The design and selection of plants and soil should take advantage of rainfall and storm water runoffs. Plants with deep fibrous roots have a great advantage and also provide the most cleaning and filtration benefits to the environment.

Rain garden looks like an attractive garden and also becomes a habitat to the birds and butterflies.

     The main purpose of landscape designs is to achieve utility and beauty in the out-of-doors. Knowledge of landscape architecture helps people to achieve a better way of life through the fullest use of the out-of-doors.

 

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