How to improve your garden and your yard this season
What does your current garden look like? is it filled with organic matter? dead grass? is the soil compacted. You might think that the only way you can rejuvenate it is by hiring a professional permanent landscaper to do all the hard work for you.
Whether you are strapped for time after a week at your demanding job or it’s late summer and it’s too hot, there are loads of ways you can create a gorgeous garden yourself without investing lots of time and energy
Low Maintenance Garden (Landscaping) Ideas:
If you’re looking for low maintenance ideas to improve your garden, then read on to see how you can spruce up your garden when you’re time-poor!
1. Garden Decor
A garden filled with flowers of all shades of the rainbow, an ornate pond with tadpoles swimming around, and a gorgeous cherry-blossom tree blooming at the edge. It sounds like a dream – but a nightmare to maintain.
invigorate life into the soil with color and texture, by placing some simple decorations, they can be found at any garden center.
Whether you’re a fan of the traditional garden gnome, a lover of birdhouses or you adore the sparkle of a string of solar-powered fairy lights, there are so many options for bringing your garden to life.
Placing garden decorations around your garden involves minimal maintenance. You can leave them be for the most part, with the exception of the odd occasion where you need to wipe off any garden grime.
Be wary of adding decorations that involve running water. Whilst a water feature might lend a calming and soothing effect your garden space, it’ll not be so relaxing cleaning out stagnant water or removing the build-up of mold.
2. Flower Selection, perennials please
Sometimes less is more. When choosing either using seeds or root plant flowers for your garden, adopting a minimalist approach and picking fewer varieties will definitely be more than enough if you’re looking for a low-maintenance gardening regime.
the general guideline is, Plants of the evergreen variety should be your number one choice to reduce your workload. The clue is in the name, they won’t shed their leaves for you to clear up, and just require a spot of water.
Shrubs like holly and lavender are beautiful and self-sufficient plants to introduce into your garden too. Keeping them in individual containers can help curb their growth, reducing the need for you to spend extensive time chopping them back.
By dressing your flower beds and containers with mulch, you’ll also hinder the growth of weeds. Other benefits are, Mulch also soaks up a great deal of water, which will then be soaked up by your plants as nutrients, therefore reducing the need for you to keep on top of your watering game.
A good way to keep the garden and lawn neat and tidy without too much effort is with cover crops and plans. to maintain cover crops and your lawn use a string trimmer, self-powered lawnmower, and hedge trimmer.
3. Fencing
Constructing a wooden fence that wraps around the perimeter of your garden is the perfect, low-maintenance way to add structure to your landscape. A hedge might give the effect of being in the midst of a fairytale landscape, but you’ll regularly have to get into the habit of pruning it to prevent it from becoming too wild.
There are many fence design options you can choose from, the style you opt for should align with the aesthetic you’re looking to achieve to tie your garden together.
4. Add a Deck,
The addition of a decking area outside will reduce your long-term yard maintenance. To make space for the decking, you’ll have to clear a portion of the area, which will lighten your gardening workload and time whacking weeds.
With decking, you can transform your outdoor space into another living area, kitted out with comfy couches and a picnic table for eating al fresco in the spring and summer or autumn. There are loads of quirky and cool decking ideas out there for you to tweak and tailor to your own needs and preferences. Accessorize with cushions and a cool patio umbrella.
Decking requires minimal upkeep and your reduced lawn space will much be easier to mow in the summer and early fall.
To enjoy your deck and keep warm and snug in the winter, invest in a good outdoor propane heater.
5. Shed
Simple landscaping jobs can quickly become complicated and frustrating when you can’t find the right tools. You can keep all of your tools and gardening gadgets safe in the shed in any weather and season.
By placing a storage shed near the area you’ll be working most, you can save yourself time each time you go to do a spot of yard work throughout the growing season.
To compensate for winter and humidity during the summer spend a little time insulating your shed (or recruit someone else to do it for you). A non-insulated shed could become prone to moisture buildup, which could damage your contents, leaving you with a big task to deal with. Insulating the shed will keep everything safe each season.
Coat it in your preferred color of paint and bring some brightness to your garden without the long-term upkeep commitment.
6. Native Plants
Many common garden plants have made their journey from foreign countries, but there is nothing like native planting, especially if you are looking for low maintenance eco-friendly choices. The variety is amazing.
White Sage, is used for both medicinal and spiritual traditions by Native Americans. It is a small blue/grey shrub that attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Maidenhair Fern comes in handy. Every landscape has some shady area where a lush green, lacy textured Maidenhair fern will flourish. All you will need is good soil, add nutrients and some moisture and your reward will come.
Coral Bells are a great touch. This hardy plant is useful as a ground cover, in rock gardens, or as borders, and can find a place in any soil. The leaves are the standout feature coming in a variety of colors from lime to rust and burgundy.
Creeping Phlox is another ground cover giving a seasonal display of colorful blooms in early spring. The purple-blue display is spectacular, and when they fade the pleasant green cover crop remains for the colder months.
There are many more to consider such as Echinacea Purpurea, Lobelia, Virginia Sweetspire, Nevius Stonecrop a great succulent, so don’t feel limited.
Using indigenous plants is easy. They are good for the environment, attract butterflies and insects, and are low-maintenance.
7. Paving
When trying to establish a garden on a budget, we have agreed that lawns, hedges, and high maintenance plants and flowers are possibly out. We have got the fence, shed and deck in place, now is the time for some paving.
Start with an attractive paved driveway, all the way from the gate to the garage. Choose a durable product for the driveway. An interlocking concrete paver would probably be the best option, and you have a variety of color choices as well as design patterns.
Staying with concrete for the driveway and project will be more cost-effective. There is a wide range of colors to choose from and a variety of designs of the block/ brick itself. A very popular design incorporates a brindle-colored brick for the body of the paving, which is good for hiding the odd stain, and a charcoal-colored brick for the edge.
This pattern could be extended for pathways through the garden and is a very attractive feature that requires little care. You will have less lawn to mow and all you need to do is give the paving a clean from time to time. The most effective way to do this is with a handy electric pressure washer.
8. Pebbles, gravel, and stones
Consider keeping the charcoal border, as discussed above, but replace the main body of the pathway with pebbles or gravel.
Pebbles come in a variety of colors and sizes, with exotic names like Anvil, Arctic, Bendigo, Bracken, Coral, Eden, and Eggshell.
They are also useful instead of mulch in garden beds and serve the purpose of preventing mowing, retaining moisture and prevent water loss in the soil while maintaining great water drainage properties.
Gravel pathways are also an option, however, most people don’t like the crunching sound generated when walking over it.
Stone, either natural or artificial, provides a rustic touch to the established areas. Placed strategically with a succulent or maybe a colorful pot plant on top brings balance to the overall effect. The best use of stone would be to add ground cover in a strategic corner, and to plant a selection of succulents and ferns, as described above.
Once established, a rock landscape is always a most satisfying addition to any soil surface.
9. Irrigation systems
Some people find dragging a hose around their property to water their lawn and plants a therapeutic exercise. We don’t always have time for such luxuries and want to ensure that the soil gets the water and the nutrients or organic material that it needs to thrive and remain healthy throughout the growing season. Water is necessary to any projects geared to amending soil compaction.
A bit of initial labor is needed to install the system, but thereafter you can sit back and relax. You will dig a system of trenches around the yard and bury the hose about 15 inches underground. At intervals along with this hose, pop-ups are added, and when water pressure is applied they deliver a mist or spray to their surrounding area.
It is important to measure the distance of this spray to ensure that there is no “dead area” between the pop-ups that are not receiving water. They can be set to deliver a solid spray in areas that have compacted soil, such as the lawn if any, ferns, and other water-loving plants. For succulents and your rock landscape, a lighter spray might supply sufficient moisture.
You have the option of manually turning on the hose as and when required, or fitting an automatic attachment just near the tap. There are various models on the market giving you options of time of day to water the established areas and duration.
For potted plants, a drip system or a self-watering container may be used.
10. Outdoor furniture
Your yard is now all set up just the way you want it, so what now? Are you just going to stand there and admire it? How about some decent outdoor furniture so that you can sit out there in the little Eden that is your own creation and enjoy.
Conclusion
Creating a stunning yet low-maintenance garden is surprisingly easy. By setting aside some time to lay the initial foundations, you’ll set yourself up for success, dramatically reducing your long-term gardening workload. Put these 10 garden ideas into practice and reap the benefits! and make sure you have all the right soil conditions.
