Gardening: Monty Don lays out 'jobs for the weekend'
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Low maintenance gardens are ideal for those gardeners who, whether due to necessity or preference, do not have as much time or energy to devote to tending to their gardens. Lack of time does not mean you can’t still create beautiful gardens brimming with colour and interest. Gardening experts at Fantastic Services have shared the ways gardeners can go about creating a low maintenance garden.
The experts said: “Have you always wanted a garden, but were discouraged by the lack of time or by the Herculean efforts that often go into creating one?
“Or maybe you’ve rented a property with a garden, are tasked with looking after one, or are completely new to the world of gardening?
“If anything above sounds familiar, the low maintenance garden is just what you need.
“Here, a big emphasis is placed on hardscaping features, perennial plants, and other laid-back elements that don’t require your constant attention to create a garden that practically takes care of itself.”
Here are some tips to create your own version of a maintenance-free paradise.
Keep plant variety down to a minimum
Plants can require a lot of upkeep so lowering the number can make gardening so much easier.
The gardening experts said: “It’s simple math – the fewer plants you have in your garden, the more free time you will have to enjoy it.
“You can even go one step further, remove all plants and lay a gravel garden.”
However for those not fond of such extremes, there are still some options.
For example, gardeners can plant evergreen shrubs like lavender and euonymus, or add some colour by introducing a few plant containers.
Just make sure to stick to a maximum of two types of plant to cut all work down to a minimum.
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Scratch “weeding” from the to-do-list
All that precious time spent in uprooting weeds can be saved if you replace some of those flamboyant perennial beds with shrubs.
The experts explained that gardeners should forget about weeding as “shrubs are way easier to plant through a weed-suppressing membrane” and “unlike their colourful cousins, shrub beds don’t require regular watering”.
They added: “Then, all you need to do is add a mulch layer on top and you can spend the next several seasons in blissful denial of the existence of such invasive plants.”
Leave lawns out of the picture
Lawns demand lots of attention, so it’s no wonder they’re branded as public enemy number one by low maintenance gardeners worldwide.
The gardening experts suggested replacing them with other features such as gravel paths, seating areas and plant beds.
Spend time where it counts
The art of low maintenance gardening is to get the most out of your green space with the least amount of effort.
The experts said: “To do that, you need to make every minute you spend outdoors count.
“Look around and note all garden features that you find yourself interacting with the most.
“Whether it’s a small vegetable patch or a water feature, make sure to focus your efforts on one particular thing and minimise maintenance work everywhere else.”
Gardeners can do this by replacing the lawn with paving, swapping needy plants for shrub borders and so on.
Maintenance-heavy plants can be positioned next to the home entrance or shed to drastically reduce the time spent carrying things around.
Fill kitchen gardens with perennials
Sure, perennials take their sweet time to blossom, but they also basically take care of themselves.
The experts said: “This latter quality makes them a perfect low maintenance garden material.
“By opting for perennials, you will also spend much less time researching your garden’s soil type, worrying about your local climate, or dabbling in infrequent pruning activities.”
Some contenders for the low maintenance crown that Britons can plant in their kitchen garden are wild rocket, salad burnet and sorrel, according to the gardening experts.
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