What Is the Difference Between Landscaping & Gardening?

There is a strong and undeniable link between humans and plants that has evolved over the centuries into a robust one. Not only do plants supply us with food they provide the oxygen we need for our survival.

It is no wonder that most of the households have a garden in their outdoor space or in their terrace, balcony, or even on their window sill.

Gardening helps you grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers that keep you healthy, happy, and also provide a pleasing appearance to your home. Landscaping is a step ahead where you create a well planned and functional outdoor space with plants and other elements.

But both focus on improving the appearance and appeal of a home using plants and other elements.

So, is there a difference between the two? Let us find out how they differ.

 

What is Gardening

Gardening is the art of cultivating plants. It encompasses all kinds of gardening including tending to a few plants or a full-fledged garden featuring all kinds of plants. The method involves growing and maintaining the plants in the ground or in pots.

 

What is Landscaping

This is defined as a professional gardening work that involves designing and creating topiaries, ponds, and other features. It is an artistic creation involving organizing and enhancing an outdoor space using natural and artificial elements for practical or esthetic purposes.

Gardening is part of landscaping. Landscaping services involves several other aspects in addition to gardening that ensure esthetic appeal prevails.

Practice

Gardening does not need any special knowledge or study. Any individual interested in growing plants can practice it.

Landscaping is mostly done by professionals who are skilled in landscape designing. Architects or designers specializing in landscaping focus on the aesthetic improving endeavor that includes gardening besides focusing on other elements like water features, sculptures, etc.

The landscaping design is based on arriving at a harmonious balance of color, flow, and texture of a space. However, it can also be done by a person interested in the work and has the basic know-how.

Purpose

Gardening is done more as a hobby or interest.  It is an ongoing activity as gardens need continuous tending and care all through the year.

Landscaping is carried out to achieve a specific objective of improving the aesthetics of an outdoor space. It aims at enhancing appeal and functionality of a space.

Activities Involved

Gardening involves only planting, cultivating, replacing, weeding, and harvesting. The activities also include grass cutting, pruning, identifying diseases and pests, apply fertilizers, herbicides, and keep the plants in good health. An experienced gardener will be able to identify the right plants to grow for a particular soil type. In short gardening is all about plants, nurturing them and keeping them in a healthy state.

Design of a garden is done by creating required plans that include location of garden beds, lawns, trees, play areas, etc. The plans also specify which plants will occupy the space. The plan usually includes an entire list of plants. Most often garden designers create the plans based on the space and budget you provide.

Landscaping involves designing and creating blueprints for an outdoor space that includes hardscapes, customized lighting, pools, pergolas, softscapes, gazebos, walkways, firepits, and more. Landscaping is more about building things like driveways, pools, patios, etc.

The landscaping plans are meticulous and detailed with precise measurements for creating all the required features and positioning them in an outdoor are.  In short, it is a process that involves building of an entire garden and is best done when left to an experienced and skilled professional.

Variety

In gardening there are various different types of gardens including simple plant gardens, rock gardens, etc. Home gardens are usually part of a residential property. Wet gardens are those that have water plants and plants surrounding ponds. Rock gardens include rock elevations where plants are placed. In gardening there is no change in the landscape.

In landscaping, the whole area is modified to accommodate the plan created by the landscape artist or architect. Heavy machinery and construction work are mostly involved and there is change in terrain to include the various elements added in the landscape design. This can include addition of plants that are not indigenous to the location.

 

What Does A Landscaping Professional Do?

To become a landscape architect, it is necessary to have a degree in landscape architecture and license for practicing. A landscaping professional takes on projects of small and large scales including designing, implementing, planning transportation, creating resorts and waterfront properties.

On the other hand, landscape designers do not need any special degree but can have accreditation from professional associations based on their work. The designers work on small scale projects mostly residential and do not often collaborate with contractors for their work.

Landscape contractors help implement the plans created by the architect or the designer. They build the various elements planned by the architect and help incorporate the hard and softscape elements. 

 

What does a gardening professional do?

Gardening professionals usually have a botany or horticulture degree or a master program in gardening. Master gardener studies include particular training hours completed under mentors (professional and academic) specializing in horticulture or gardening. The professionals have knowledge of various processes such as plant physiology, soil ecology, climate conditions, pest infestations and water drainage.

 

Final Thoughts

While gardening is focused on just growing and maintenance of plants in a particular space, landscape is more about hardscapes that is focusing on structures such as patios, pathways, walls, etc. A landscaper can use a gardener to take care of the softscapes such as mulch, making flower borders, advice on planting etc. Some landscaping firms also have partnerships with gardening professionals to take care of the various activities involved. But a gardener is mainly equipped for the gardening only and maybe some of the softscape skills like repairs of fence, tending to plant bed borders, etc. In short, gardening can be just a part of landscaping, and it can also be an independent entity.