Our Top 3 Tips For Low-Maintenance Garden Design
At Taming Mother Nature, caring for the outdoors is what we do, so we understand how much work is required to keep your garden in top shape. Maintaining a garden can take a lot of time, money, and effort, which most people simply cannot afford.
Whether you have a busy schedule, a small budget, or simply are uninterested in gardening this should not prevent you from having an outdoor space you can take pride in. It is possible to have a beautiful garden without working for it if you design for the long term.
Low-maintenance gardens are incredibly popular these days as people struggle to balance their daily routines and ongoing commitments. These landscapes have specifically been designed to be easy to take care of, meaning they remain healthy and attractive throughout the year without little to no interference.
If you want to create a beautiful outdoor space but are concerned about the time it will take, consider a low-maintenance garden.
How To Design A Low-Maintenance Garden: Top 3 Methods
A low-maintenance garden is a landscape that requires little to no work to keep it in prime condition. Garden maintenance, from cutting the grass to fertilising the flowers, is an ongoing process and one that often requires attention throughout the year.
For a lot of homeowners, taking care of a garden is the last thing on their minds which is why low-maintenance garden design is incredibly useful. By incorporating low-maintenance design features, you can create a landscape that looks great all year round and will continue to be a usable space even without getting your hands dirty.
There are several ways you can make your garden easier to maintain, including:
1) Replace Natural Lawns
One of the biggest time-sucks is maintaining the lawn. From cutting the grass to watering and fertilising, it takes a lot of work to keep your grass looking green and lush. This work continues all throughout the year and often becomes a bigger task following the winter months as you try to recover your cold, dormant lawn.
Lawns are often a standard feature in UK gardens and take up a large percentage of the landscape. However, by replacing the lawn with an alternative you not only create a unique environment that complements your home, you are also designing a low-maintenance garden that you can enjoy all year round.
Hardscaping is a great alternative to lawns and can allow you to make better use of your garden, no matter the weather. Paving the space where the lawn once was can create a sleek, attractive, and low-maintenance garden that does not get muddy during the wet weather. Hardscaping is much easier to maintain than grass, as simple cleaning is all that is needed to get it looking its best, and it will dry out quicker.
This method is particularly beneficial for those with pets and children who constantly drag mud through the home, as this no longer has to be an issue when the garden is beautifully paved.
2) Stay Local With Native Plants
No garden is complete without a touch of greenery and plants can still be a big part of your design, even when opting for a low-maintenance garden. Plants do require some level of care after they have been installed, such as watering and fertilising, but these tasks can be drastically diminished by staying local with your planting options.
Choosing native plants will make your garden easier to take care of because these plants are used to the conditions of your landscape and can thrive here naturally. As well as looking at native plants, consider hardy, drought-resistant options such as succulents to reduce the need for watering and shorten your garden maintenance to-do list even further.
Although you are narrowing your planting options down to specific types, this does not mean your garden has to be boring. There is a great range of hardy plants that you can incorporate into your low-maintenance garden to add colour, texture and scent without getting your hands dirty, such as shrubs and perennials.
Landscaping experts, like our team, can recommend an amazing display of plants to support your desire for a beautiful, yet low-maintenance garden.
3) Install Irrigation Systems
Even when choosing native or hardy plants, there is going to come a time when your garden needs some care. All plants require hydration, no matter how infrequent, but this does not necessarily mean you have to get out there and do it yourself.
Irrigation systems are a highly valuable tool for your low-maintenance garden as they do the work for you. Once set up, irrigation systems deliver water directly to the plants and can cover a wide surface area based on how many sprinkler heads are present.
You can take low-maintenance gardening to a whole new level by opting for an automated irrigation system. While these are a bigger investment, they run on timers and automated schedules so you don’t even need to turn the system on to ensure your garden remains hydrated and cared for.
Why Choose A Low-Maintenance Garden?
Designing a low-maintenance garden can be an extremely beneficial process and is becoming increasingly popular with landowners these days. As a leading landscaping company, we are seeing a greater demand for low-maintenance garden design, as people want to be able to spend more time outdoors without working for it.
If you are still undecided about whether this is the right transition for you, consider the benefits that a low-maintenance garden can bring to your life, such as:
- More Time
One of the biggest benefits of a low-maintenance garden is how much time it frees up in your schedule. Without traditional time-wasters such as cutting the grass or watering the plants, you have more time to be outdoors and spend time with loved ones, as opposed to tending to the land around you.
- Attractive Garden
Although you do not have to do much work in a low-maintenance garden, this does not come at the cost of aesthetics.
Instead, as low-maintenance gardens are designed as such, they remain in prime condition even with little interference from you. This means that even those who are not blessed with a green thumb can experience the joys of beautiful garden design and have a space they are proud of.
- Wise Investment
To be low-maintenance, these kinds of gardens are designed for the long term. Features such as paving and drought-resistant plants are durable and long-lasting, which makes them easy to care for as well as playing a big role in the visual appeal of your outdoor space throughout the years.
Although the initial investment of making a low-maintenance garden can seem high, it is designed to provide years of peace and pleasure making it a wise choice.
- Sustainable Landscapes
Reducing how much water and chemicals are required to keep your garden looking its best not only does good for your schedule but the planet too. Traditional gardens, with grass and flowers, require constant hydration to keep them looking their best, as plants need water to grow healthy. This increases your water usage, which is not only expensive but damaging to the planet as water is a natural resource.
Fertilisers may be required to support the growth of your garden and make it look better, such as feeding the grass after winter to make it lush and green once more, which is also incredibly damaging to the planet. By creating a low-maintenance garden, you are avoiding these tasks and reducing your impact on the planet in the process.
Conclusion
A low-maintenance garden can be one of the best things you do for your home, as it frees up your time without compromising your enjoyment. A low-maintenance garden is easier to care for than traditional landscapes, making them suitable for people of all abilities.
Whether you do not have the time for gardening or have no interest in it, this does not have to come at the expense of having a beautiful outdoor environment. With some simple adjustments, such as replacing the lawn, choosing native plants, and opting for automated gardening processes, you can reduce the work needed to maintain your garden which frees up time for leisure and relaxation.
Contact Us Today
For more landscaping and garden design tips, check out our other blog posts or reach out to the team today.
