Tips for Creating a Low Maintenance Landscape

"With the high cost of gas today I offer this article as a way for the homeowner to save on this costly expense."

A low maintenance landscape or garden is the ideal solution for those people who love a nice garden but don’t have the time, energy or strength - or the desire - to be constantly working on it. Many gardens are beautiful, but only because there is a hardworking person in the background doing all the necessary work.

If you want a landscape that you can enjoy without spending all your free time working in it, a low maintenance garden is a necessity.

Firstly, don’t plant annuals. Even though they have fantastic color, annuals take regular work in planting, weeding, watering and then replacing. There are many beautiful perennials, permanent shrubs and trees that have glorious flowers, leaf color and beautiful bark color and shape as well. Annuals are only a small part of gardening as a whole.

So for a landscape that is low maintenance, plant things that have a long life. You’ll have lots of glorious greenery and for that added splash of color or to fill in a bare spot, you could add an annual or two if you wish. But really, you can have a lovely landscape with no flowers at all.

If you have a relatively small area, you could fill it all in with a fishpond surrounded by colored gravel, unusual rocks, grass trees, yucca or a line of pretty shrubs in tubs. Add an ornament or two such as gnomes, wading birds or lanterns and you’re done. No mowing, no weeding and very little watering. How good is that?

Or you may prefer more greenery in which case you could plant the kind of lawn grass like Centipede Grass that does not grow high or fast and so needs less mowing. Add to this a scattering of bulbs that will bloom at various intervals and some hardy groundcovers for those spots where grass won’t grow, such as under trees. A birdfeeder and birdbath will ensure that there is living color in your garden.

Since the lawn is usually a high maintenance aspect of the homeowners landscape - it must be fertilized, watered and mown on a regular basis, the idea is to replace it. You could choose to replace your lawn with hardscape objects such as a deck, gazebo, pathways, paved and pebbled areas and even a shrubbery, but there is another way. You could replace it with clover.

Clover needs less nitrogen as it creates its own from the air, thus making your soil even better. It doesn’t need mowing much as it is a low grower and it sends up flowers in season with a subtle beauty all their own. These flowers do attract bees, so you may need to mow a bit more during blooming season, but only if you are allergic to bee stings.

For more landscaping tips please visit the information page with the link below.