Four tips for a low-maintenance garden that looks better and requires less work
We all want a beautiful, green garden where we can relax. But the reality of having to weed, water, and mow all the time can make that dream a chore very quickly. What if you could have a beautiful yard that almost takes care of itself? It’s not a dream; it’s just smart gardening.
You can make a beautiful outdoor space that you can spend more time enjoying and less time working in by following a few simple rules.
1. Pick the right plants
This is the most important rule for gardening that is easy to care for. It’s always hard to keep a plant alive when it doesn’t want to be there. Choose plants that naturally grow well in your area instead.
Go Native: Native plants have been growing in your area for a long time, so they are perfectly suited to your soil, rain, and weather. They need a lot less water, fertilizer, and pest control than exotic plants do.
Choose Perennials: Perennials come back on their own for many seasons, unlike annuals, which you have to plant again every year. You only have to plant perennials like Coneflowers, Hostas, and Daylilies once, and they’ll look beautiful for years.
2. Make mulch your best friend.
Use mulch if you only do one thing to make your garden work easier. A layer of organic mulch, like bark chips or shredded leaves, that is two to three inches thick over your garden beds will change everything.
It Smothers Weeds: A thick layer of mulch keeps sunlight from reaching most weed seeds, so they never grow. That means you won’t have to spend as much time on your hands and knees pulling out annoying intruders.
It Keeps Moisture: Mulch slows down evaporation by acting like a blanket for your soil. This means that even when it’s hot, you’ll have to water your plants much less often.
3. Arrange Plants Like a Pro
Have you ever had a plant that likes water next to one that likes dry soil? You can’t make both of them happy. The answer is to put plants that need the same things together. People sometimes call this “hydrozoning.”
Put all of your plants that like the sun and can handle dry weather in one area, and all of your plants that like shade and need water in another. This way, you can water each part of the garden correctly and effectively, without killing one plant to save another.
4. Think about your lawn that needs a lot of care.
A perfect green lawn is an American dream, but it’s also one of the hardest parts of any yard to take care of because it needs to be mowed, fertilized, and watered all the time. You might want to think about cutting down on the amount of lawn you have to care for to save time.
Make Your Beds Bigger: Make your garden beds wider and fill them with the hardy perennials and mulch we talked about earlier.
Use groundcovers: If grass doesn’t grow well in shady areas or on slopes, try replacing it with a tough, low-growing groundcover like Creeping Thyme, Ajuga, or Pachysandra. They keep weeds from growing and don’t need much mowing.
Add hardscaping: make your patio bigger, build a deck, or make a gravel path. These projects only need to be done once, and they will cut down on the amount of work you have to do in your yard for good.
You can make your garden thrive on less by making these smart choices. This will give you more time to relax and enjoy the view.
