Tag Archives: hardscapes

What’s Not Working With Your Hardscapes

There are many things that can go wrong with hardscapes around your home. Some of them may be the result of installation mistakes, and others may occur naturally over time. If you step outside and look out at your patio or walkways and it makes you want to turn and go back inside, we understand your pain!

Here are a few of the typical concerns we hear from families around Hampton Roads about what isn’t currently working with their hardscapes:

  • Old styles of concrete sidewalks. Concrete sidewalks crack over time, leaving space for weeds to sprout in those gaps.
  • Ugly patios. While they are an inexpensive, quick solution to bare lawns, plain, cement slab patios leave much to be desired.
  • Failing Walkways. Walkways that shift or ones where the outer border has begun to sink or disappear altogether are unsightly, and create a tripping hazard.
  • Uneven steps or pavers. When pavers or stairs are not installed properly, they can shift over time in an uneven way, leaving the pieces at different heights.
  • Sidewalks and driveways that are all all function and no form. Just because your walkways and driveways serve a purpose doesn’t mean you can’t also incorporate them into your landscape design to increase curb appeal.
  • And the problem we hear most of all: the absence of hardscapes! 

Don’t let your hardscapes keep you from enjoying your outside spaces. There are many ways to transform an old, uninspiring landscape into something you’ll look forward to showing off to guests! When you’re ready to discover how amazing your yard can be, give Edward Gosman & Associates a call at 757-421-2500 or contact us online for a free landscape design estimate.

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Hard Time with Hardscapes? Create Harmony with Transition Zones

It happens all the time. Homeowners call us after trying their hand at a major landscape or hardscape overhaul themselves, and they tell us their struggle with making their desired landscape “flow.”

Perhaps they live on a waterfront property, have a sloped yard or simply want to incorporate several different outdoor elements. No matter the landscape, transition areas help make a yard look its best because they offer gradual, rather than abrupt, changes.

Patio bricks installation. Pavers in a circular pattern.

Our team embraces this challenge – in fact, it’s what we do best! We have over 35 years of experience helping homeowners implement a well-thought-out plan so their yard stands out beautifully.

Here are a few example scenarios of how we can help ease transition zones in your yard:

Having a Hard Time Planning Hardscapes?

The key to successfully incorporating hardscape materials like rocks, patios, stones, walkways and more into your yard, is to remember flow of movement. Think of how people will walk through (and how their eyes will move across) your yard. An apron of bricks or a different stone can help break up the start of a walkway against a driveway or patio. A curved walkway adds flow and charm to a garden, and patio blocks and pavers can be arranged in any number of designs. A stunning hardscape transition zone can make a big difference on the look of your entire landscape.1451484_10151828813871194_132310400_n

Merging Different Elements

Your lush, green lawn and carefully planned beds of flowers and shrubs don’t have to stand apart from each other. A beautiful yard incorporates elements that blend the areas where different materials meet – from patio to grass, water to lawn, flowers to hardscapes, and more.

Garden edging, whether with rocks, bricks, natural stone or cobble, creates a nice link between planted beds and surrounding patios or grass. Incorporate both hardscape and softscape elements for a properly balanced landscape.  A fountain will stand out when surrounded by perennials. A retaining wall is enhanced by flowering shrubs.

These are projects best left to the pros, and the experts at Edward Gosman & Associates can point you in the right direction in regards to optimal layout, path width, slope and placement of hardscape elements.

Creating harmony in your yard means looking at the big picture as well as the individual parts. The landscape design and installation team at Edward Gosman & Associates has been working with Hampton Roads homeowners for over thirty-five years to create yards that are stunning (and functional!) works of art. When you’re ready to resolve the design challenges in your yard, give us a call at (757) 421-2500 for a free, no-obligation estimate!