Blue Tree Outdoor Living treats hardscape and softscape as one site system. Hardscape includes built elements such as patios, walkways, walls, and kitchens. Softscape includes soil, lawns, trees, shrubs, and planting beds.
Blue Tree Outdoor Living treats hardscape and softscape as one site system. The strongest outdoor plans coordinate built features with soil, lawn, trees, shrubs, and planting beds from the start. The right balance depends on use, drainage, maintenance, local requirements, and how the property should look through the seasons.
Written by Chad Ochnich, Vice President, Co-Owner, and ICPI-certified hardscape authority at Blue Tree Outdoor Living. Chad has worked with Jeff Mattiola at Blue Tree since 1995.
Hardscape and softscape share the same grades, water paths, access routes, utilities, and maintenance plan. A patio can shape where people gather. Planting can soften that edge, provide shade, and manage how the space changes through the seasons. Planning both systems together helps the finished property work as one design.
Hardscape is the fixed, built part of an outdoor space. Hardscape design and installation can include paver patios, walkways, steps, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fire features, pool decks, driveways, pergolas, and pavilions.
The visible material is one part of the system. Site preparation, support layers, drainage, joints, edges, load, and intended use also affect the design. The right assembly depends on the selected material and the property conditions.
Softscape is the living and growing part of the property. It includes soil, lawns, trees, shrubs, perennial beds, annual plantings, gardens, and planted stormwater areas. These elements change in size and form, so the design needs to account for mature growth, root space, water, sun, and maintenance access.
Landscape and planting design connects those living elements to the built plan. A bed next to a patio needs enough space for the selected plants at maturity. Trees should be placed with roots, shade, structures, utilities, and sightlines in mind.
| Design question | Hardscape response | Softscape response | Coordination check |
|---|---|---|---|
| How will people move and gather? | Patios, walks, steps, walls, and built seating define circulation and use. | Planting softens edges, provides shade, and guides movement. | Keep routes usable at mature plant size. |
| Where will water go? | Slopes, drains, base systems, and permeable assemblies manage water around built areas. | Soil and planting areas receive, slow, or use water where site conditions allow. | Confirm discharge, infiltration, and municipal requirements before construction. |
| What maintenance is acceptable? | Joint care, cleaning, repairs, and winter treatment vary by system. | Watering, pruning, mowing, replacement, and seasonal care vary by planting plan. | Match both systems to the homeowner’s maintenance plan. |
| How will the property age? | Base preparation, edge restraint, materials, and construction details affect service life. | Mature size, root behavior, succession, and seasonal form change over time. | Design for ten-year growth, not installation-day appearance. |
There is no universal hardscape-to-softscape ratio. A small urban lot, a wooded property, a pool-centered backyard, and a steep site place different demands on circulation, planting, drainage, and maintenance.
Start with how the property will be used. A family that hosts large gatherings may need more built gathering space. A homeowner who wants shade, garden interest, and lower paved coverage may give more area to planting. Accessibility, lawn needs, pet routes, play areas, outdoor cooking, and future phases can change the balance.
Then test the plan against the site. Review existing grades, water movement, soil, utilities, structures, setbacks, and mature plant size. Municipal stormwater and impervious-surface requirements also affect the buildable plan. Under Pennsylvania DEP’s Act 167 framework, stormwater planning occurs through county watershed plans and municipal ordinances. The applicable rules depend on the property’s municipality, watershed, and zoning.
An interlocking concrete pavement is a system. CMHA’s application guide for interlocking concrete pavements describes prepared support, bedding sand, paver units, joint material, and edge restraint as coordinated parts of the assembly. CMHA’s construction guide specification also requires the project specification to be adapted to site conditions and location. One base depth or construction detail does not fit every project.
ASTM C936/C936M-26 covers solid concrete interlocking paving units. The standard does not apply to every natural-stone, porcelain, slab, or permeable system. Ask the designer to identify the material standard and construction guidance that match the selected product and use.
Permeable pavement may be one part of a stormwater plan. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s permeable-pavement guidance says these systems can reduce runoff by allowing water to move through the surface and can help filter pollutants. System selection, subgrade, drainage, maintenance, and municipal treatment remain site-specific.
Built and planted areas meet at edges. Those edges need room for drainage, roots, maintenance, and movement. A planting bed beside a patio should receive water without washing soil onto the pavers. A retaining wall should account for the grades and planting areas it supports. Walkways should remain clear when nearby shrubs reach mature size.
Lighting and utilities also cross both systems. Conduit, low-voltage wire, drainage lines, and irrigation supply should be coordinated before the patio or planting plan is installed. Blue Tree’s guide to the landscape design consultation explains how those property conditions enter the design process.
The plan should also account for future work. A homeowner may build a patio now and add a pavilion, landscape lighting, or planting in another phase. Reserving routes and connection points can protect the first phase from avoidable disruption.
For plant-selection context, read Blue Tree’s guide to plants for Southeastern Pennsylvania site conditions.
Sequence depends on the project, but grades, structural work, drainage, and underground routes often need to be established before final planting. This prevents finished beds from occupying construction access or conflicting with the elevations set by patios, steps, walls, and pool decks.
A coordinated sequence can include site protection, rough grading, drainage, utility routes, hardscape construction, final grading, soil preparation, planting, lighting fixtures, and restoration. The order may change for a renovation or phased build. The important point is that one plan assigns the order before crews begin.
Blue Tree designs and builds hardscape and softscape through one team. The hardscape plan, grades, drainage, planting beds, lighting, and restoration are reviewed as parts of the same property. Chad Ochnich, James Gonczkowski, and Justin Ryen hold ICPI certification, and Blue Tree provides a two-year workmanship warranty on hardscape installation.
Chad and Jeff Mattiola have worked together at Blue Tree since 1995. The company has 43 years in business and serves Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties. That operating history supports the practical benefit of one accountable team across the property.
Hardscape cost is shaped by excavation, access, base preparation, drainage, selected material, cuts, edges, walls, steps, structures, lighting, and labor. Softscape cost is shaped by soil preparation, plant size and quantity, lawn work, irrigation support, access, and the maintenance plan.
Neither category has one useful per-square-foot comparison for every property. A simple planting bed and a mature screening plan have different cost structures. A ground-level patio and a structural wall system do as well. Compare the defined scope, site conditions, and care requirements for each option.
Phasing can help when the full property plan exceeds the current budget. The first phase should protect grades, drainage, access, and connection points needed later. If the project also includes a pool deck or full backyard build, Blue Tree’s 2026 Pennsylvania inground pool planning ranges provide broader budget context.
There is no universal ratio. Blue Tree starts with how the homeowner will use the property, then reviews circulation, drainage, maintenance, mature plant size, future phases, and municipal requirements. The right balance is the one that fits the site and keeps both built and planted areas functional.
Hardscape changes how water moves across a property, so drainage should be designed with the surface. EPA says permeable pavement can reduce runoff and help filter pollutants, but the system still depends on the site, subgrade, maintenance, and local treatment. Blue Tree evaluates grades and water paths before selecting the assembly.
The answer depends on scope. Hardscape costs can include excavation, support layers, drainage, materials, structures, lighting, and installation. Softscape costs can include soil work, plant size and quantity, irrigation support, lawn work, and ongoing care. Blue Tree compares the defined work and maintenance plan instead of using one universal square-foot rule.
Impervious surface is land coverage that limits water movement into the soil, but local ordinances determine which surfaces count and how they are treated. Pennsylvania DEP’s Act 167 framework connects watershed plans to municipal stormwater rules. Blue Tree checks the property’s municipality, watershed, and zoning before finalizing hardscape coverage.
Yes. Blue Tree designs and builds patios, walls, walkways, planting, lawns, lighting, drainage, and related outdoor work through one team. Coordinating both systems lets the designer resolve grades, edges, water paths, utilities, access, and mature planting space in one property plan. Request a Free Consultation to discuss the full scope.
Request a Free Consultation to discuss hardscape and softscape as one property plan. The first visit is free, with no obligation.
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