Many people treat their gardens as an oasis, a quick taste of greenery amidst busy neighborhoods where they can relax and embrace nature. While your outdoor space might look green in color, is it green enough? One way to find out is by measuring its sustainability. 

If you’re looking to improve your yard’s sustainability, strategic hardscaping may be the solution. Enter the use of non-living elements to enhance the functionality and sustainability of your favorite hangout spot.

What Is Hardscaping and Why Should You Incorporate It?

Americans love their yards so much that the lawnmower is probably the most used tool in the summer. However, mowing isn’t exactly a sustainable practice, especially if you use gas-powered mowers. In an hour of use, they can emit as much air pollution as driving a car for 100 miles. That’s why an all-grass lawn may not be the best thing to have.

Your space should have both softscapes and hardscapes to balance the elements. Softscapes include trees, flowers and plants, which absorb carbon dioxide, but require regular upkeep. Hardscape features are long-term additions to your home’s facade, including components like patios, retaining walls and walkways. These hardscaped features can reduce water use, but need to be thoughtfully designed so as not to retain heat. 

The Benefits of Strategic Hardscaping on Your Yard

Mindful and intentional design can make your lawn greener. The key is a strategic balance. Too much greenery can make your space feel like an untamed jungle, while excessive hardscaping can diminish the yard’s relaxing appeal. 

1. Water Conservation Through Permeable Hardscaping

When it rains, you want water to soak naturally into the earth rather than rushing down your driveway and filling up storm drains. Covering large areas of soil with impermeable concrete contributes to storm runoff, which is a waste of water and an accelerator of soil erosion.

Strategic hardscaping, however, promotes permeable surfaces — materials that allow water to filter through and replenish the ground. Water has a chance to sink into the soil and provide irrigation for plants.

As a homeowner, you could be spending upwards of $400 for irrigation alone. What you can do to minimize this is to add more hardscapes to balance out the greenery in need of watering. When you do, opt for pervious concrete or permeable interlocking pavers when installing driveways, patios or walkways. These features help recharge groundwater and prevent polluted runoff from flooding local waterways. 

By allowing rainwater to nourish your plants instead of draining away, you not only conserve water, but also reduce the strain on stormwater systems and minimize yard erosion.

2. Reduced Maintenance and Resource Use

Your expansive green lawn is water-thirsty and could be wasting gallons every week. By integrating hardscaping, you are basically minimizing the portion of your yard that needs the hard work of pruning, watering and maintaining. You are helping preserve limited resources, while also saving energy.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates nearly 30% or eight billion gallons of residential water use in the U.S. goes toward outdoor landscapes, primarily for lawn irrigation. To ease the statistic, you can make space for a winding stone walkway or install a fireplace. Hardscaping now replaces areas otherwise consumed by green grass in need of watering.

To further minimize your use of water and chemical treatments, consider creating a low-maintenance patio surrounded by native plants. Local plants have developed a resistance to the climate and don’t need excessive fertilizers or pesticides to survive. They also require less watering than imported and introduced plants and will attract pollinators and various wildlife species.

3. Enhanced Energy Efficiency

Strategic landscaping also offers temperature-reducing benefits to your home. Traditional paving materials like asphalt can absorb heat and reach up to 152 degrees Fahrenheit at midday. In contrast, cool pavements reflect the heat and reduce the overall ambient temperatures in your home, keeping it 10 to 16 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. This means there’s less need for you to crank up your air conditioner in the summer, because the surroundings are helping you cool down your home.

Consider installing lighter-colored pavers or gravel to reflect sunlight rather than absorb heat. Pervious surfaces also retain moisture in the soil, which adds to the cooling effect.

4. Promotes Biodiversity With Thoughtful Design

Contrary to popular belief, hardscaping can actually enhance biodiversity — when done strategically. Hardscaping structures made of natural elements like stone walls, bird baths and rock piles can encourage wildlife and create microhabitats for insects, birds and small animals.

Pair your hardscape installations with native plants to encourage more pollinators such as bees, beetles and butterflies. Planting more than one type of flower also goes beyond aesthetics, as the variety of plants supports a wider range of wildlife. Even small-scale planting can grow pollinator abundance by 91% and species richness by 88%.

5. Minimizing Landscape Waste

Incorporating hardscape structures reduces landscape waste. When you mow your lawn, all the grass clippings, fallen leaves and organic debris often end up in landfills, contributing to methane emissions. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation reported that 14% of homeowners dispose of over 10 bags of yard waste per year. 

Minimizing the accumulation of yard waste should start at the source. Installing gravel paths, rock beds or patios reduces the source of grass clippings, as they are replaced with hardscape elements. 

Other Things You Can Do to Improve Your Outdoor Space’s Sustainability

Beyond strategic hardscaping and landscaping, there are additional ways to make your outdoor areas more eco-friendly:

• Plant trees: Trees provide shaded areas to protect you and your plants from the extreme heat. They cool your home when planted closer to the home and absorb carbon dioxide to offset your carbon emissions.
• Reduce gas-powered tools: Swap out your gas-powered lawnmowers, leaf blowers and trimmers for electric or manual alternatives to cut down on carbon emissions and noise pollution.
• Harvest rainwater: Install a rain barrel to collect and store rainwater for irrigation, reducing dependence on municipal water sources.
• Compost organic waste: Create a composting system to recycle food scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich soil, reducing landfill waste and the need for chemical fertilizers.
• Use smart lighting: Opt for solar garden lights or LED lightbulbs to illuminate pathways and patios without increasing electricity consumption.
• Choose sustainable hardscape materials: Use reclaimed wood, recycled bricks or eco-friendly decking materials to further minimize environmental impact.

By incorporating these practices, you can take your lawn’s sustainability to the next level while creating a thriving, low-impact outdoor space.

Bring Balance Beyond Green Grass

Strategic hardscaping is more than just installing stone patios or walkways — it’s about creating environmentally responsible outdoor spaces that conserve water, reduce waste, promote biodiversity and minimize energy consumption.

The next time you think about improving your yard, consider how strategic hardscaping can reduce your environmental footprint while creating a beautiful, low-maintenance outdoor space. You don’t have to resort to drastic changes. Start small by replacing one section of your lawn with a gravel path, swap out traditional pavers for permeable options or use reclaimed bricks for your next yard project. Make it a sustainable outdoor area, one hardscape element at a time.