Definition of Landscape Design:

The art of arranging or modifying the features of the grounds around a home to improve the property from an aesthetic and/or practical standpoint.

Practical Landscape Design: Energy Conservation With Trees, Land Use

How will your yard be used? Do you have children who are active outdoors? Do you yourself plan on using your yard for exercise, sports, or entertaining? Answering these questions will help determine the appropriate landscape design for your needs. Extensive lawn space is useful in a yard that will see a lot of social barbecues, badminton and ball playing. But if you are more interested in turning your yard into a retreat meant for serenity, solitude and contemplation, the role of turf grass may be reduced drastically in favor of trees.

Softscape refers to the elements of a landscape that comprise live, horticultural elements. Softscaping can include, flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, flower beds, etc.

Hardscape, in the practice of landscaping, refers to the paved areas like streets & sidewalks, large business complexes & housing developments, and other industrial areas where the upper-soil-profile is no longer exposed to the actual surface of the Earth. The term is especially used in heavily urbanized/suburbanized areas with little bare soil.