Paver Guides
What Is Hardscaping? A Metairie Homeowner’s Guide
What hardscaping means, how it differs from softscaping, and why base and drainage matter most on soft Metairie ground. A plain-English guide.
Written by Big Easy Paver Patios
Key Takeaways
- Hardscaping is the built, non-living part of a yard: patios, walkways, driveways, walls, steps, edging, and the drainage under them.
- Softscaping is the living part: grass, shrubs, trees, beds, and mulch. A good Metairie yard plans both together.
- On Metairie’s soft, low ground, the hidden layers of hardscape (base, slope, and where the water goes) matter more than the surface you pick.
- Most yards add hardscape in phases, so a written plan keeps each piece draining toward the same place.
- Planning a patio or walkway in Metairie? Call Big Easy Paver Patios at (504) 688-4244.
What Is Hardscaping?
Quick Answer: Hardscaping is every built, non-living element of a landscape, such as paver patios, walkways, driveways, retaining walls, steps, fire pits, and the edging and drainage that hold them together. In Metairie, it usually means turning a flat, wet backyard into usable space that still sheds water after a summer storm.
The word gets used loosely, so here’s how we use it. If you can walk on it, sit on it, park on it, or lean on it, and it isn’t alive, it’s hardscape. That covers brick and concrete pavers, natural stone, poured concrete, gravel paths, seat walls, and the outdoor kitchen counter. It also covers the parts nobody sees, such as the compacted base and the pipe that carries water away.
What Does Hardscaping Mean in Landscaping?
In landscaping, hardscape is the frame and softscape is the fill. A designer lays out the hard surfaces first because they set where people walk and where water runs. Plants come after, in the spaces the hardscape leaves open.
That order matters on a typical Metairie lot. Many yards here are narrow and deep, with a slab patio by the back door, a strip of grass, and a fence line under a big tree. Hardscape decisions decide how that space works:
- Circulation. A paver walkway in Metairie gives you a dry path from the driveway to the back gate.
- Gathering space. A