Hardscape design professionals generally do almost everything that a traditional landscaper does -- getting dirt under their fingernails on a daily basis -- but they add another element on top of the usual topiary, garden, and lawn details.
Hardscape design is exactly what it sounds like: making and executing a plan to use 'hard' materials such as concrete, brick, timber, metal (usually iron or copper) and the like to beautify an environment.
Some hardscape design professionals also readily incorporate water features into their designs, as most fountains and such are 'hard' materials in the first place.
Landscaping makes most Americans think of cut grass, immaculate flowerbeds, and trimmed bushes arranged under trees whose leaves are meticulously raked up and disposed of once a week all autumn long.
But as hardscaping becomes more popular countrywide (not only because it's new and different, but because it's easier to maintain as well) the idea of what it means to have your house 'scaped' is changing rapidly.
Hardscaping doesn't stop there, however -- many hardscape design professionals will also readily draw up plans for a patio, a barbeque pit, a deck, walkways, decorative retaining walls, exotic fences and gains, and even artistic sculptures as well! The applications of hardscape design are as varied and beautiful as any live garden -- just more permanent.
But don't think that hard means large -- hardscapers will just as readily put together small details in an otherwise 'soft' environment.
For example, having a Japanese-style concrete lantern or a copper Foo dog set up to grace your backyard is right up a hardscaper's alley.
Of course, any real project is going to have both hardscaping and 'softscaping' elements.
Many hardscape design professionals started as traditional landscapers, so they can address both elements easily, but if you're working with a dedicated hardscaper, you may need to call in a more traditional landscape designer and have the two collaborate.
The first big question they need to answer is 'what comes first'? If you begin with the landscaping, the hardscaping itself -- which can be fairly intensive- labor and equipment wise -- can damage the plants and soft terrain.
For this reason, starting with the hardscaping is usually wiser.
Once that decision is reached, it's time to design.
Most people find that it's aesthetically pleasing to use the hardscape design elements to contrast either the building itself or the softscaped areas.
As most modern houses are rigid, straight lines with somewhat visually harsh elements, hardscaping design professionals often suggest gentle, curved lines and rounded corners to contrast the house itself.
In a natural, highly landscaped environment, however -- especially one that conceals the house from view -- it may be more effective to utilize straight lines and right angles to separate the hardscaping from the natural world around it.