How To Create A Low-Maintenance Garden That Looks Great All Year
Low-maintenance gardens continue to be one of the most popular solutions for homeowners across the country, as they offer a range of benefits to your home and lifestyle. With low-maintenance garden design, you can enjoy the benefits of an attractive and thriving outdoor space without the need for extensive work.
Unlike traditional gardens, low-maintenance landscapes do not require constant upkeep or gardening. There is a reduced need for tasks like watering, fertilising, pruning, and mowing without compromising the visual appeal of the space. Your garden will remain attractive and healthy even without the additional support from you, giving you more free time to enjoy it.
The last thing busy homeowners need is another task on their to-do list, which is why low-maintenance gardens are ideal. In this post, leading landscapers Landesigns are sharing some of the best tips to help you create your own low-maintenance garden to free up time this summer.
Why Choose A Low-Maintenance Garden?
As we have mentioned, low-maintenance gardens offer a wide range of benefits, which is why they continue to be a popular option for homeowners across the country. These benefits include:
- Easy Care: Low-maintenance landscapes are designed to be easy to manage, making them a great option for those with limited time or ability. They can also be a great way for those with no interest or skills in gardening to enjoy the benefits of an attractive outdoor space without having to put themselves out.
- Sustainable: As low-maintenance gardens do not require as much watering or fertilising as traditional outdoor spaces, they are more environmentally friendly. Reduced water usage and chemical reliance put less pressure on the planet, allowing you to take care of your garden without impacting local biodiversity or the surrounding ecosystems.
- Cost-Effective: Reducing tasks such as watering and pruning can make low-maintenance gardens more affordable in the long run. Plants need to be replaced less frequently, if at all, and ongoing costs for tools and chemical treatments are also not required, which is why they are cost-effective.
- Consistent Appeal Year-Round: Using hardy materials and perennial plants means low-maintenance gardens look the same all year round. This allows you to enjoy your garden throughout the seasons without any additional effort.
- Increased Property Value: A well-designed garden can add value to your home, as this is a very appealing feature to potential buyers. A low-maintenance garden can be even more attractive due to its wide appeal and suitability for a range of lifestyles, such as large families, single occupants, or couples.
How To Design A Low-Maintenance Garden
Now that you understand the benefits of a low-maintenance garden, it is time to begin developing one of your own. There are various ways you can create a low-maintenance landscape, such as:
Low-Maintenance Planting
Plants are a key part of any outdoor space and play a large role in their visual appeal. Plants can also influence how much work is needed to maintain your garden and the tasks required each season.
By replacing traditional flowers and shrubs with low-maintenance options, you can ensure your garden looks the same throughout the season and continues to require little to no work.
Some of the best plants for your low-maintenance gardens include:
- Evergreen Shrubs: Hedges and shrubs such as box or hebes provide year-round structure to your low-maintenance gardens. They provide greenery throughout the seasons, keep your garden design consistent and offer lasting screening in garden zones or for outdoor privacy.
- Drought-Tolerant Perennials: Hardy plants such as lavender, sedum, and echinacea require little watering and provide ongoing blooms, offering colour and texture to your low-maintenance garden all year round.
- Ground Cover: Ground cover plants, such as creeping thyme, are a great way to provide greenery and colour to large areas in low-maintenance gardens. These are low-growing plants that require little to no pruning and can provide additional benefits to your garden through weed suppression.
Hardscaping For Less Upkeep
Most low-maintenance gardens rely heavily on hardscaping due to the reduced upkeep these areas require. Hardscaping can replace or reduce the size of planting areas and lawn spaces, reducing the need for tasks such as watering, pruning and mowing.
By choosing hard-wearing and long-lasting materials, your hardscape areas can last decades with little upkeep and become the central focus in your low-maintenance landscape. Some of the best hardscape materials to include in your low-maintenance garden include:
- Porcelain Paving: Ideal for large patios or completely hardscape gardens, porcelain paving is a contemporary material that provides a sleek appearance. Available in a range of colours and finishes, this paving material can complement all kinds of outdoor spaces, but is best for modern landscapes and properties.
- Permeable Paving: Permeable paving provides excellent drainage, preventing issues such as flooding and soil erosion in your garden. These materials are an excellent option for gardens across the region, due to the frequent wet conditions and can support your low-maintenance needs for a long time. Materials such as resin, gravel, and porous block paving can provide these benefits across your garden.
- Composite Decking: Composite decking is a sustainable alternative to timber and an excellent option for both contemporary and low-maintenance landscapes. It can provide the same appearance as wood, but lasts longer and does not require seasonal maintenance. Unlike traditional timber decks, composite decking does not need to be stained or treated and can be used in all weather conditions, making it a great option for your low-maintenance garden.
Organic Mulching For Weed Control And Easier Plant Care
Some of the biggest tasks in the garden revolve around caring for your plants. Tasks such as wedding, feeding and watering are required to keep your garden healthy, and should be performed all year round. Having an attractive and healthy outdoor space requires an ongoing commitment to maintenance tasks like this, which can take up a lot of time and money.
If you still want to have a healthy, vibrant garden with a variety of plants and flowers but do not want to work for it, organic methods such as mulching are incredibly useful.
Mulching is a wonderful way to protect your plants and keep your garden healthy, while also reducing the amount of maintenance needed throughout the year. Applying a layer of mulch to flower beds, containers, and planting areas can offer a range of support to your garden.
Mulch can help to suppress weeds, maintain soil moisture and provide essential nutrients to your plants over time, especially when relying on organic materials.
Using materials such as compost, wood chips, or manure provides nutrients to your plants over time as they decompose and can support the growth of your garden without any additional maintenance from you. This is a great way to keep your low-maintenance garden healthy and attractive all year round, as long as mulch is replaced seasonally or when required. It can also help to save money, as these organic materials are usually affordable and will do multiple jobs at once – such as watering and feeding – without the need for extra tools or chemicals.
Conclusion
Creating a low-maintenance garden can be extremely beneficial and is a great way for all kinds of homeowners to take advantage of their outdoor space. Whether you do not have the time, budget or ability to regularly tend to your garden, low-maintenance gardening techniques allow you to experience the joys of a thriving landscape all year round.
Using techniques such as hardy planting, durable hardscaping, and organic mulching keeps your landscape healthy and attractive without any extra effort. This can help free up time in your schedule, so you have more hours to spend enjoying the garden with loved ones.
For additional support regarding your landscape and how you can better design the space, consider working with professionals like Landesigns. We offer landscaping and construction services to bring your dream garden to life, and can help create a low-maintenance landscape from the ground up.
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FAQs
What plants require the least maintenance?
Evergreen shrubs, hardy perennials, and ground cover plants are excellent options for your low-maintenance garden as they require minimal pruning and watering throughout the year.
How can I reduce weeding in my garden?
Using ground cover plants and organic mulch in planting areas can help suppress weeds. Installing a weed membrane as the foundation of all planting areas can also aid in this.
Do low-maintenance gardens have to be plain?
Not at all! It is possible to have a vibrant and engaging low-maintenance garden based on the plants, flowers and materials used throughout. For example, adding structural, drought-tolerant plants, such as shrubs and ornamental grasses, and colourful perennials can help you create an interesting space that requires little upkeep.
