We all like having a garden. It’s your personal slice of nature away from the bustle of the city. But most of us don’t want to spend hours every week gardening to keep it looking fabulous. Can you have a lovely outdoor area that is low maintenance? Absolutely.
Size
The bigger the yard, the more maintenance involved. How much outdoor space do you really need? This isn’t something you can readily change unless you’re still in the home-buying stage, but it’s still something to keep in mind. If you have loads of unused space then you might want to think of other uses for that space that isn’t going to require much work. Perhaps like a timber deck or children’s play area.
Non-growing things
A cheat tip to reduce maintenance is to incorporate non-organic elements into your garden. Wooden garden furniture, landscape boulders, bridges, pathways and garden gnomes add aesthetic appeal and take up space but require little to no maintenance.
Lawn
Keeping your lawn manicured and green is responsible for much of the effort that goes into a yard. You can reduce the size of your lawn through hardscaping like with a patio, deck or shed. Or instead of the typical grassy lawn you can plant ground cover in shady areas.
Plants
Some kinds of plants need far more effort than others. Depending on what kind of work you’re willing to put in your yard you can choose your plant selection accordingly. Some plants just need to be watered now and then while others need daily thirst quenching. Some plants need to be regularly pruned, like the kind of hedges that get a bit crazy if left unattended. Others need little to no intervention once past the initial growing pains.
5. Watering
Choosing plants based on low water consumption is called xeriscaping and is ideal for the low maintenance garden. Cacti, aloe, scilla, gasteria and haworthia are all low maintenance plants because they don’t need a lot of water. You can pretty much just plant them and leave them.
If you do have to water your plants, installing an irrigation system is easier than manually watering with a hose pipe.
Growing conditions
Getting the growing conditions right from the beginning will save you effort later on. Place plants in areas where they’ll get the right amount of sun and remember that different plants have different needs. Mix compost or nutrient-rich soil in your garden bed so there are plenty nutrients to go round and make sure it is an area where the soil drains well.
Weed control
If you mulch your garden bed with straw, newspaper or a commercial weed barrier you can reduce or prevent weeds. Also, remember that a little bit of effort pulling out weeds when they’re still young and tender is easier than waiting until the weeds are big and strong.
A low maintenance lawn can still be every bit as attractive as one that requires a lot of work. It just takes a little initial planning. The difference is that it won’t take away your time and energy, and it won’t turn into a jungle if you don’t get around to it in a while. So really, you will probably enjoy your low maintenance garden much more.
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