In the practice

of  landscaping, refer
s to the built
environment
including pavedareasl
ike streets&  sidewal
ks, structures, walls 
street amenities, poo
ls and fountains. Also
, largebusiness
complexes, housing d
evelopments, highwa
ys, and other
industrial areas
where
theupper soilprofile is
no longer exposed to
the air but is covered
with
durable materials.
The term isespecially
used in
heavily urbanizedor s
uburbanareas with
little bare soil.
Hardscape
features
Typical small-scale
hardscaping
examples
include patiosand sid
ewalks. Retaining
wallsare oftenused to
create boundaries
between hardscapes
and earth
landscaping features,
or softscapes. From
an urban planningper
spective, hardscapes
can include very
large features, such
aspaved roadsand tra
ffic circlesor traffic isl
ands. Most
artificial water featur
esare
technicallyhardscape
s because they
require a barrier to
retain the water,
instead of letting it
drain into
thesurrounding
soil.From an
aesthetic
perspective,
hardscaping allows
workers to erect
landscaping features
thatwould otherwise
be impossible due
to soil erosion, or
that compensate for
large amounts
ofhuman traffic that
would cause wear on
bare earth or grass.
For example, sheer
vertical featuresare
possible.Hardscape
means any hard
surface landscape
such as a patio,
driveway, retaining
wall, or anyother
hard surface
landscaping made up
of hard wearing
materials such as
stone, concrete etc.
asopposed to soft
landscaping which is
grass, bark and other
such items.
Drainage concerns
The water tablein
and around large
areas of hardscape is
usually very depleted
because theamount
of  rainwaterabsorbe
d into the soil is
insufficient to
recharge the water
table in that(usually
urban) area. Such
areas must then rely
largely on
"imported" freshwate
rfrom local ornon-
local lakes, reservoirs
, dams, rivers, and st
reams. On the other
hand, most homes
in ruralareasoften
use wellsand springs
as their primary
source of freshwater
because the local
watertable is being
constantly recharged
by the hydrologic
cycle. 
c h a r a ct e r an d th e r e m u st b e
g h t ( 2 9 0 0 m m ) . A l lo w s p ac e

a s te e l ra i l
fo r fl o w e r