Sunday, April 28, 2024

23 Best Low Maintenance Plants for Landscaping

low maintenance landscape design

When selecting trees for your landscape, choose those that are low maintenance to avoid having to spend your free time cleaning up a carpet of spent blooms, hickory hulls, or invasive seedlings. Opt for evergreens and standard shade trees that don’t drop a lot of extras or reseed themselves all over the lawn. For interesting edges without the effort, try clumping monkey grass (Liriope muscari) along flower beds, borders, and walkways. This Asian native is hardy and stands up to dogs, deer, bugs, and weeds. Monkey grass can grow to about 15 inches, so trim it if you wish or go long. A plant that's happy because it's planted in conditions that suit it perfectly will need far less cosseting.

low maintenance landscape design

Adjust Your Landscaping for Dogs

Two simple changes to your outdoor decor can be astonishingly transformative. Here are 20 low-maintenance landscaping tips to help keep your yard work to a minimum. Speed up your watering even more by investing in a quick connect system. This handy innovation makes it easier to thread hoses to soaker hoses and sprayers, or switch out watering tools.

Plant Living Groundcover

There's no need to worry about overwatering either, due to their nifty design. Don't forget that the actual containers themselves can be a stylish feature for any patio space – we've got tons of gorgeous designs in our garden planter ideas. These low maintenance garden ideas will help you to spend more time relaxing, rather than working, in your plot. So, even if your front yard is really tiny, just go for it, taking inspiration from this glorious tropical front garden.

How to Use Straw Mulch for Vegetable Gardening

HGTV's Chris and Peyton Lambton reveal how to spend less time taking care of your yard and more time relaxing in it. Ornamental grasses are particularly appealing because they're hardy, deer resistant, and incredible looking when they're blowing in the wind to add texture and interest, says Cervoni. Raised beds provide a boundary that keeps your front yard looking neat. Opt for dwarf varieties if you're short on space, and stick with those that keep their natural rounded or conical shape without needing pruning for the most low-maintenance options. Make a checklist of garden chores and set aside time to complete them. Use a drip irrigation system that comes with different zones to tailor water usage to different areas of the yard.

Draw up a plan and decide what kind of plants, hardscape, and furnishings you want to have. Doing your homework up front will save you time and extra expenses later on. Whether you’re improving an existing bed or creating a new one, good soil provides the foundation for a low-maintenance landscape.

Best Shrubs to Create Privacy in a Backyard

Replace a fast-growing privacy hedge that requires regular pruning with a fence. Composite decking material will last longer and is easier to maintain than wood, which needs regular cleaning and sealing. The appeal of having a beautiful yard is undeniable, but the upkeep can be daunting.

low maintenance landscape design

Try planting them amongst gravel, in between pavers, or in front yard flower beds around low-maintenance shrubs for a pretty look. Unless you love the look of a beautiful lawn, your entire yard doesn't have to be grass. If you'd prefer an alternative, consider planting groundcovers, low-growing plants that add interest and color without requiring quite as much upkeep as a lawn. This outdoor living space is the ideal combination of high-style and low-maintenance. White gravel serves as the predominant ground cover – it’s particularly noticeable in the seating area which is composed of oversized high-end chairs grouped around a chic fire pit. White concrete paving stones have been layered over the gravel in one section of the yard.

Plants in pots, hanging baskets and window boxes require regular watering and fertilizer to look their best. Instead of a lot of smaller pots, choose one or two larger decorative planters, which will also serve as focal points. Choose permeable materials for pathways such as gravel or pavers to allow rainwater to percolate into the ground, which will reduce runoff, help stem erosion, and conserve water.

4 Water-Wise Landscape Designs Created Just for Denver-Area Homes - 5280 The Denver Magazine

4 Water-Wise Landscape Designs Created Just for Denver-Area Homes.

Posted: Mon, 06 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Be inspired by mediterranean gardens

However, that is balanced by the Craftsman style’s emphasis on harmony with the surrounding environment, use of natural materials, and incorporation of organic forms. The clean lines and sharp angles of this modern Craftsman home are softened by the serpentine flower beds overflowing with pink and purple perennials. This narrow backyard is transformed into a remarkable retreat tucked into an industrial area. The black fence feels modern and minimalist, and its height offers plenty of privacy.

A spade-cut edge resembling a mini trench is also a great method, although it needs to be recut annually. High-quality tools have longer life spans than cheaply made tools, and the best tools function optimally, making garden chores easier and more inviting. Invest in a sturdy spade, shovel, hand pruners, loppers, and hedge trimmers if your landscape includes many shrubs that require pruning to maintain size or shape.

Laying down bricks over the majority of the yard reduces the area you’ll have to regularly tend to. Frame the more lushly vegetated areas with the bricks to create instant garden beds. The lounge chairs to the left are perfect for soaking up the sun, while the cabana offers shelter on a rainy day. When you plant a neat and pristine garden bed with perfectly spaced flowers, you’re setting yourself up for a lot of upkeep.

These days, retailers have perfected the synthetic lawn with fluffy grass mats that look pretty realistic. These set-’em-and-forget-’em flowers are heat-resistant, pretty much prune-free, and “self-cleaning”—you don’t even have to deadhead them. Just use a good organic rose food in early spring, and follow up with foliar feedings (liquid fertilizer applied to the leaves) through the blooming season. No digging, less weeding and super-healthy plants – you can see why many consider this to be a no-brainer. Try jungle-like Fatsia japonica, for example, or dainty Euonymous fortuneii. To keep things interesting, mix in some low-maintenance perennials like hardy geraniums.

Plants adapted to their environments long before people did, so native species are a wise choice for the laid-back landscaper. Native plants require less fertilizer, water, pesticides, and overall care than plants brought in by settlers. To learn what will thrive in your neck of the woods, type “native plants” and your state into a search engine—you’ll find tons of info. However, if your garden soil tends to bake dry, as often happens with clay, see it as a plus point rather than a negative. Instead of trying to keep it moist, fill it with drought-tolerant plants that will thrive without additional watering instead – try eryngiums and lavender, for example.

When just starting to plan for a low maintenance garden, you may feel overwhelmed and your options may seem limitless. In temperate climates, where moderate rainfall and seasonal variations prevail, prioritizing native species and hardy perennials can offer enduring beauty with little intervention. In this article, explore the key steps and principles involved in initiating a low-maintenance landscape project. Rituparna is the Founder of Studio Arth, an award-winning landscape architecture firm based in Coconut Grove, Miami. You can also invest in self-watering pots, or, as mentioned above, hook them up to an irrigation system. This no-grass front yard idea also ups security for your home as it crunches underfoot – alerting you should someone enter your property.

Invest in self-watering containers too so you'll need to water every week or so instead of daily. If you try to cheat, you're just dooming a plant to struggle so that it looks bad and may eventually die (which is a waste of money!). Stay on top of seasonal garden tasks such as pruning and weeding, which can reduce the overall amount of time you spend on chores. Crushed rock, pebbles, river rock, or pea gravel can also be used as a more durable inorganic mulch.

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