Both hard and soft landscaping are a vital part of creating and maintaining a garden. But what do these terms mean and how can Farm Tech Supplies help landscapers to achieve their goals?
Hard or Soft?
Hard landscaping, as the name suggests, applies to the hard materials used for landscaping. This includes patios, fences, brick walls and stone features. Hard landscaping provides the underlying shape of the garden by creating boundaries and laying the groundwork for drainage and the overall foundation. It can help to think of this type of landscaping as the man-made portion of the garden.
In contrast, soft landscaping is all the natural, soft materials found in the garden, such as the trees, bushes, grass and flowers. These create the main aesthetic of the garden, offering a wide range of colours and shapes, changing with the seasons. While soft landscaping tends to require more maintenance than hard, it is also more cathartic and has fantastic therapeutic properties.
Working the Ground
At Farm Tech Supplies, we have an impressive range of products to help begin your landscaping journey. Even before the turf goes down, it is important to cultivate the soil to ensure that you have good drainage and roots can easily settle. The Winton Power Harrow makes quick work of churning the soil, ready for planting. With the added advantage of burying stones and pebbles under a layer of good soil, the Winton Stone Burier is also up to the task.
Sometimes it is necessary to run flexible pipe or cable underground. For example, a water feature or summer house could require water or electricity. The Winton or Deleks Ripper & Pipe Layers can set the pipe or cable in the ground quickly, while barely disturbing the soil and turf.
Setting Boundaries
A good fence needs steady posts to stay sturdy in the British weather. The Winton Post Hole Borer drills holes up to 3 feet deep and comes with 3 width options on the auger for multiple sizes of post hole. Another way to set in posts for a fence, is the Oxdale Post Knocker. This machine uses pulleys and weights to drive the post into the ground, while also keeping the post straight and level.
Seeing the Wood for the Trees
Bushes, hedges and trees are an important part of landscaping. With a wide range of shapes, sizes and colours, they can create stunning visual aesthetics. However, they can also have a more practical purpose, such as forming a barrier or giving some shade to the garden. To make sure that hedges and trees don’t take over, they need to be kept clipped. The Winton Hedge Cutter is ideal for thick bushes, while the Deleks Hedge Trimmer gives a more precise, finer cut.
After a trim, the cuttings need to be disposed of. Leaves and small twigs can go on the compost heap, but branches will take a long time to break down. The Winton Wood Chipper turns branches up to 5 inches in diameter into handy wood chips. These can then be used for mulch, or to provide grip to a pathway or track. A wood processor is ideal for chopping branches up to 11 inches in diameter into logs, which can be used for firewood. Large logs are easy chopped down to size with a Log Splitter.
The Grass Is Greener
The majority of gardens are covered by grass, so its health is vital for the well-kempt garden. Keeping grass well-fed is quick and easy with the Winton PTO Spreader. For proper drainage and healthy soil, it needs to be aerated regularly. The Fleming Aerator pierces the soil with minimal disruption to the grass.
William Hackett Harrows are ideal for aeration, with options for those with and without a tractor. The most basic option is the grass harrow, giving an aggressive harrow for aeration with one-way tines and a ring hitch that can be attached to most vehicles and even working horses. The drag paddock harrow and framed harrows have all these benefits but thanks to their three-way tines, it can give a medium strength harrow to spread fertiliser, as well as a light harrow to flatten mole hills, for example. Framed harrows do require a tractor with a 3-point linkage, but they are more easily transportable.
For grass to remain neat and tidy, a mower is a must. The Winton Topper Mower is ideal for reclaiming scrub land for lawns as it gives a powerful cut, even through brambles and saplings. The Winton Finishing Mower, and its professional version, give a close cut on lawns. Winton Flail Mowers can achieve a precise cut, but also power through brush and scrub. These machines come in a wide range of sizes, with options for side-offsets and verge flails. For those without a tractor, the FTS ATV Flail Mower is a fantastic option.
Keep it Moving
Hard and soft landscaping alike can involve transporting heavy materials, with things like rocks, paving slabs and fence posts on the one hand, and plants, trees and turf on the other. Moving them by hand is incredibly laborious and can be very time-consuming. Pallet forks are a simple option for moving items from A to B, with fixed forks available from Winton, and adjustable from Deleks. With its rear scoop and tipping function, the tipping box can’t be beat for ease of use. The Winton Tipping Trailer can handle 1.5tn, and with mesh side extensions, it can carry just about everything needed for landscaping.
