To see the softer side of hardscape, take a walk around the side of this O'Hara home.

Victor Beltran and his wife, Vincenne Revilla Beltran, were finalists in last year's Great Gardens Contest because of their unique hardscape -- the paths, walls and structures that are the "bones" of a well-designed garden.

In most gardens, the soft element is the plants, whose flowers and foliage breathe life into the stone, wood and concrete that frame them. In this one, the hardscape has a spirituality that comes from creative planning and devotion to detail.

Don't believe it? Just ask the Buddhist monks who have blessed it and the couple's friends who have enjoyed music, meditation and fellowship there.

"We're open to all sorts of beliefs," Mrs. Beltran said. "This garden suits our spirits and our personalities, and we get a lot of joy from it."

Mr. Beltran is a Peruvian-born architect and illustrator with Astorino. His wife is a multicultural education professor and administrator at Point Park University. They bought this 1950s house in 1990 because it felt right to them. After they finished a rear addition three years ago, they both felt the need for something more than generic landscaping.

Mr. Beltran, who designs buildings on a computer, did not use one to plan their garden. Instead, he and his friends designed the curving stone walls as they built them, incorporating three benches.

"When you sit, you become part of the wall, literally," his wife said.

To endow the cold stone with warmth, he included nooks for plants and candles and incorporated tiles with a Tibetan mantra. Fallingwaters Landscape and Aqua Design built a koi pond and series of waterfalls, and Jim Moore Construction did the red stone patio.

Mr. Beltran's strongest design statement was the two pergolas. The massive one at the top of the steps combines Asian influences and Arts & Crafts style with the feeling of a church altar and a chuppah, the canopy under which Jews are married.

Once the hardscape was in place, the couple began adding trees, shrubs and flowers. They include Japanese maples, dwarf conifers, celosia, daylilies, hostas, liatris, mosses, sedums and groundcovers.

Last year, many of the plants were still too young to stand up to the bold hardscape surrounding them.

It's the main reason that judges from the Post-Gazette and Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania did not choose the garden as a winner.

Mrs. Beltran said they considered entering again this year but decided to take the year off to do more planning and planting.

In truth, they don't really care about winning awards. Their garden has already rewarded them beyond measure.