A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms and how they integrate with natural or man-made features.
Softscape
Softscape refers to the live horticultural elements of a landscape. Softscaping can include, flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, flower beds, and duties like weed/nuisance management, grading, planting, mowing, trimming, aerating, spraying, and digging for everything from plants and shrubs, to flower beds.
Hardscape
Hardscape refers to hard landscape materials in the built environment structures that are incorporated into a landscape. This can include paved areas, driveways, retaining walls, sleeper walls, stairs, walkways, and any other landscaping made up of hard wearing materials such as wood, stone, concrete etc. as opposed to softscape, the horticultural elements of a landscape. From an urban planning perspective, hardscapes can include very large features, such as paved roads, driveways or fountains and even small pools. Most water features are hardscapes because they require a barrier to retain the water, instead of letting it drain into the surrounding soil.