9 Tips for a Low Maintenance Garden
If you love gardening, then you probably don’t mind all the hours of maintenance that you need to carry out to keep it in top condition, but the chances are you probably have a lot of different things to be doing with your time. In this guide, we explore some tips for you to enjoy a low-maintenance yard.
Choose Hardy Plants
Hardy plants don’t need a lot of care and attention. These plants are low maintenance and don’t tend to need a lot of pruning on a regular basis, and most of all, they don’t need you to constantly be out in the yard watering them to make sure they survive. A lot of hardy plants are species that come from places where there isn’t a lot of rainfall, so they aren’t demanding when it comes to water.
Install Artificial Turf
Ask anyone who has artificial turf in their backyard and they will tell you that it is quite a game changer. Not only does it look good all year round, but it doesn’t need you to go out there and mow it every few weeks to keep it looking good. Artificial turf could be the single biggest time saver.
Use decorative stones for landscaping
Stones don’t need the same maintenance as wood or plants do. Where possible, try and incorporate stones, rocks, or even gravel into the design of your yard if you want to create something that doesn’t need much maintenance.
Grow Evergreens, Shrubs, or Bushes
It’s natural to still want some growth in your yard, and these are the way forward if you want to avoid all that annoying maintenance. Unlike fruit trees that will need a lot of maintenance and can even leave a mess, with rotten or unripe fruit falling at certain times of the year, they will slowly grow, remaining robust and not requiring much from you at all.
Leave Paved Areas
Paved areas can be a great option for people who don’t want to do maintenance, you’re minimizing the chances of having to mow the lawn and you are also managing to reduce the area where things can grow. You could even go for the paved courtyard look in your yard and combine patios with potted plants.
Let Some Areas Go Wild
Wildflowers are an example of this. If you have the space for it (and the neighbors aren’t going to complain) then you can let some areas grow wild. Not only does this reduce your maintenance, it can be really good for insects and wildlife in the area, allowing a natural habitat for life.
Consider Container Gardening
Container gardening is great for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time in the yard. By planting in containers, you’re ensuring that things don’t grow too out of control, and you can easily move them around or rearrange the garden if you want to.
Container gardening is a good way to get some color into your yard with some low-maintenance plants, safe in the knowledge they aren’t going to become overgrown and demand pruning all through the summer.
Swap hedges for fences
Hedges are a lot of work sometimes, especially if they are fast-growing. Not only do they grow outwards, they grow upwards, which can mean having to use a ladder to reach the top and manage to keep them in some sort of control. If you’ve got the chance, you are much better off using fences if you don’t want to perform much maintenance. The more hard-wearing the material of the fence, the less chance you are also going to have to treat and stain this on a regular basis, too.
Reduce the need for watering with mulch
Mulch is almost magical if you are worrying about having to water your yard all the time. Mulch holds onto the water it receives for much longer and can then gradually disperse it to plants and trees over time, rather than just letting it drain away as it would pretty quickly in soil. Mulch means less watering but it also means that when it does rain, the water will stay in your garden for the maximum time possible and continue to benefit your plants. Moreover, mulch prevents weeds from growing, blocks sunlight to the soil, and makes garden beds attractive.
