Why a hardwood tree isn’t always hard.
You may have heard the phrase hardwood and softwood. Despite the oblivious connotations, all wood is pretty hard, there are differences. One thing that does not define what is hardwood and what is a softwood is how hard it actually is. For example, you may remember doing a bit of wood work at primary school. You would have been given balsa wood as it is easy to cut and shape. It is not used for construction because it is flimsy and weak. It is classed as a hardwood.
As Southampton Timber Merchants http://www.timbco.co.uk/ will tell you the type of wood you use depends on the style that you want and the build that you need. For example, a classic softwood that is used is Pine. You will find Pine in lots of furniture pieces. It takes a lot of stress and force and it makes for an excellent table. It is a softwood.
Softwood is generally lighter in colour and slightly lighter in density. If it is treated it can be used outside. Softwoods are evergreens so they grow quicker and numerously. They have less impact environmentally. Hardwoods are darker in colour and last longer than softwood. However , hardwood comes from deciduous trees which take longer to recover in a wood.