As countless experts tell us, more and more buyers are seeking a low maintenance garden when they go on the lookout for a new home. This should hardly be surprising; while in an ideal world everyone would love to have that flamboyant garden, in reality they are time-consuming and many of us just can’t afford such luxuries.
This is one of the reasons the likes of Japanese garden design has become so common over recent years. These have more of an emphasis on rocks, evergreen plants and ornaments – meaning that they can be tailored to require much less maintenance than the typical garden.
There are other ways and means to achieve the low-maintenance look and through the course of this post we will take a look at some in-detail.
Lawns are the biggest drain on your time
Having that lush, Wimbledon-esque lawn might seem great for photos, but in reality it’s an absolute burden on your time. Sure, in some month’s lawn maintenance might not be excessive, but in others you’ll find yourself taking care of it every week.
This is perhaps where the biggest movement in the low-maintenance field has become. Nowadays, more and more households are turning to surfaces such as paving, gravel or decking – and all of these can eliminate all of the maintenance which is associated with a lawn.
Of course, you don’t have to go the full hog with this. You could instead just scale back your lawn, or at least keep it to a regular shape. You might be surprised at just how much work you can cut out by opting for the latter.
Avoid the use of containers
While containers can completely look the part in a lot of gardens, few would disagree that they require an awful lot of work. These plants very rarely tend to be evergreen, and usually need to be re-potted and regularly fed.
If you do have your heart set on containers, at least opt for larger ones which contain plenty of compost, as there is less chance of them drying out.
If you insist on wild plants…
For some people, there’s nothing better than the sight of wild plants. Of course, this is hardly a best of both worlds’ solution, and this wild garden will need maintenance – and a lot of it.
It will also cut down on the water usage, as you don’t need a lot of water or an elaborate watering system if you just have a small lawn. You can simply use a hose with a water nozzle by Gilmour attached to meet all of your lawns water needs.
The solution? Designate a small space in your garden which contains this wild garden. One of the big problems is that a lot of these plants spread like there is no tomorrow, so make sure you fence it off accordingly. It will need looking after from time-to-time, but if it’s not taking over your garden there won’t be quite as much maintenance for you to take care of.
Strip out the soil factor
If you have opted to have beds, don’t top them with soil. This is one of the easiest materials for weeds to bypass, and nowadays it hardly looks the part either. Instead, opt for mulch or crushed stone. The former can actually help to fertilize plants, while stone is something that never has to be replaced and will survive the test of time.