Low maintenance gardening | FREE Advice to FAST Gardening Solutions

Low Maintenance Gardens

Let’s be honest, not all of us have green fingers, and while we may enjoy spending time outside, it can be difficult to dedicate hours every week to pruning and weeding. This doesn’t mean that our gardens need to fall into disrepair, but it does mean that we should take more care in planning what we plant in order to save time later on.

What plants are low maintenance?

If you want to design a garden that is low maintenance you should make use of shrubs and conifers within the garden. Shrubs in particular come in a range of textures and colours, to create a visually appealing look that will need little looking after. When choosing shrubs and bushes go for slow-growing in order to reduce the need for regular pruning. Bulbs are a great way to decrease the amount of work needed in your garden, plant them once and they will come up year after year, choosing bulbs that come up at different times will ensure that your garden is effortlessly transformed by a blast of colour throughout the seasons.

What plants should I avoid?

If you don’t want to spend your time weeding and pruning avoid plants that spread quickly, for example mint which can quickly become weed-like if unchecked. Reeds and long grasses are also likely to spread beyond your control if you don’t regularly garden. Avoid heavy-seeding plants that could spread, if you do plant heavy-seeding plants you will need to dead-head them before seed pods are allowed to form and fall.

How should I position plants?

Reducing the maintenance needed in your garden is also about planting the right plant in the right place. For example if you have a dry garden opt for plants that do well in dry conditions, similarly make sure you stick to guidelines about the amount of sun and shade plants thrive in. Your local garden centre can advise you further as to what plants will suit your garden’s soil type, sunlight and moisture content.

How can I achieve a low maintenance lawn?

Mowing a lawn can be one of the regular maintenance chores in the garden, firstly consider whether or not you actually need a lawn, in smaller gardens a patio or shingle with pot plants could look just as attractive and reduce the need for mowing altogether. If you do wish to keep your lawn then keep to basic shapes and borders, avoid central flower beds and odd-shapes as manoeuvring the lawn mower around them will take more time.

What jobs shouldn’t I avoid in the garden?

With gardening it is often wiser to do jobs that need doing sooner rather than later, for example when dealing with weeds: work before weeds spread beyond control. Good preparation is also key to gardening so prepare the soil and beds before you plant to encourage the plants to grow well and make sure any bare soil is covered up to reduce the chance of weeds growing.

Even if you have a busy lifestyle you an enjoy an attractive, low maintenance garden with careful planning, buying plants that suit your needs and garden conditions and by trouble shooting problem plants and pesky weeds before they get out of control.