Top tips for a low maintenance garden
Top tips for a low maintenance garden
Does a lack of time put you off gardening?
How many lists do you have with stuff to get done when you get time?
Do you look at your garden and just see jobs to do?
Time is precious, but we need our outdoor spaces more than ever right now. Don’t view your garden as another chore. Here are my top tips to make your garden low maintenance.
With a small amount of planning, you can reduce the number of gardening jobs. That means more time to sip wine and enjoy your lush garden.
My top tips for an easy-care garden
1. Plan your planting - select plants that look good throughout the year with little attention. Year-round, easy-care plants are a thing! Opt for perennials, hardy evergreens, grasses and ferns. Once they’re planted, you can pretty much leave them to it. Forget non-hardy varieties that need lifting for winter, that’s a lot of work. Likewise, ignore plants that require complicated pruning. That’s a hassle you could do without. A bit of planning will save you valuable time further down the line.
2. Lose the lawn - either get rid of grass or reduce it as much as possible. Install a gravel garden instead. It’s low maintenance and looks amazing. Use drought-tolerant plants to create a Mediterranean-style outdoor space. If you do want to keep a patch of grass, add a neat, brick edge to your lawn area. It makes mowing so much easier and it helps to keep lines under control.
3. Opt for evergreens - ensure year-round colour in your garden by using plenty of evergreen plants. It means you won’t be looking out on a dull, lifeless plot in winter. You’ll always have some greenery and you won’t have all the plants losing their leaves at the same time.
4. Choose patios and decks mindfully - the right paving or decking could save you a whole load of time. Real wood decking needs a lot of maintenance to keep it looking good. Composite decking is much easier to care for. If you want a paved area, I recommend porcelain as it doesn’t stain. Slate is another good option.
5. Position pots together - that ensures efficient watering. Clever eh? Simply slosh a can of water over the group of pots, rather than lugging it across the garden. Planting in groups makes it easier to adapt for the changing seasons.
6. Pick drought-resistant plants - they need less water. Those hardy, sun-loving plants that make up a gravel garden, need a lot less attention than thirsty ones. Adding a layer of mulch to beds will also help with water retention. Then, instead of spending your garden time watering, you can quench your own thirst instead!
7. More is more - pack your plants close together. Dense planting = less seeds. And that means less back-breaking weeding time for you.
8. Don’t dig it - leaving soil to do its thing naturally is great for wildlife, the environment and you. Consider having a section of garden that is left to run wild. It will encourage wildlife above and below ground. Ultimately, it reduces weeds and needs a lot less attention.
9. Add some automation - technology is such a time-saver. Automate tasks such as watering by installing an irrigation system. Put lighting on timers or have it activated by sensors. After the initial set-up, those jobs will be done with no effort from you.
10. Choose clever screening - hedges need trimming and wooden fences need painting. Instead, you could install composite fence panels (eg screenwithenvy) or even metal fences as these are becoming more widely available now. No painting is needed and they last forever. Just be sure of the colour as you’ll be living with it for a while!
Gardening doesn’t need to be labour-intensive and time-consuming. With careful planning, you can create a low-maintenance garden that still looks amazing. Then you can sit back and enjoy your garden, from the comfort of your deckchair.