How to make your garden low maintenance - Champagne and Petals
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How to make your garden low maintenance
If you look out to your garden and see a huge mess, then you will know how frustrating this can be. You may feel as though nothing you do works, and that you just don’t have time to stay on top of everything. If this is the case then you have nothing to worry about because you are most certainly not alone. So many people find themselves in the same situation that you are in right now, but there are things that you can do to make it easier.
Keep plant variety to a minimum
It’s really simple math. The fewer plants you have, the less time you have to spend maintaining them. If you want to take things to that next level, then it is very easy for you to remove all plants and then put down some artificial grass. Gravel is also another great alternative because when you’ve put it down, zero maintenance is required. If you do want to have some plants in your garden, then it is possible for you to plant some evergreen shrubs. This can include euonymus or even lavender. Colour can be added by having a few plant containers or decorated plant pots. To keep work to a minimum, don’t have more than two types of plants. This will simplify your garden, while reducing maintenance.
Lawns really do demand a huge amount of attention. If you don’t want a lawn but you want your garden to look fresh and exciting, then you need to pick a species that won’t interfere with the roots of any trees that are in your garden. This can include spring bulbs, or even plants like crocus. Gravel paths can be put down, but make them around 4ft wide. This will prevent plants from growing, and it will also help water to drain away faster. Flagstone can be put down for a patio area, and this makes it more than possible for you to have an outdoor dining set. If you still have too much lawn left, then invest in some wide plant beds. This will give you that all-year look and it will also help you to keep complete control over what you grow and what you don’t. It also makes weeding, way easier.
The art of having a low-maintenance garden is trying to get the most out of your space with the minimum amount of effort. In order to do this, you need to add garden features that you will interact with the most. It doesn’t matter whether it is a vegetable patch, or even whether it is a water feature. You need to focus your efforts on one particular thing, and then minimise the amount of work that is required elsewhere. You can do this by replacing the lawn that you have with paving. Swap out any needy plants for shrubs, and also place any big or heavy plants near to your home entrance or even outside your shed. This will reduce the amount of time it takes you to carry water to them.
Think about it, all the time you spend weeding can easily be saved if you were to replace some of those lovely flowers. Shrubs are easier to plant if you were to do it through a weed-suppressing membrane, and they do not require watering either. When you have done this, all you need to do is add a layer of mulch on top. This can be bark, or even gravel if you’d prefer. When you have this done, you can then spend the next few seasons not having to worry about such invasive weeds or even watering.
Enhancing your soil
Sure, feeding your plants is very important. If you don’t feed your soil as well however, then you could be seriously missing out. If you can, you should always enrich your soil with compost. This will give the soil you have in your garden the chance to build up with minerals and it will also make it easier for your plants to thrive. One bonus of this is that you only have to do it once a year! Just scatter some mineral supplements underneath your yearly compost layer and before you know it, everything will be looking bigger and better than ever before.
When you add mulch, you essentially add a blanket that is 5 inches deep. This serves more than one purpose because it will help you to suppress weeds and it will also help you to retain as much moisture as possible. If you want to get the best result out of this then rotted mixture is great. You can spread it once, and then leave it for a good amount of time. It doesn’t take long, but you would be surprised at the difference it can make.
No garden is low-maintenance unless you have some kind of sprinkler system. You can install it in any location that will benefit you, but it does help to make sure that you get as many plants as possible. The days of watering your plants will be long gone, and you can sit back with a beverage while that takes care of all the work. Just make sure that you do water them from time to time because this will help to make sure that no single plants are missing out.
Hardscaping really does make sense. The more inanimate items you have in your garden, the less you have to maintain. Consider replacing your lawn with some paving and reduce the number of plant beds you have by adding some slate paths. Not every form of hardscaping is suitable however. For example, decking needs to be cleaned from time to time and with gravel, you have to make sure that you rake it to try and keep the surface nice and even.
Perennials do take quite a while to blossom, but they are very independent, and they can really take care of themselves. If you can, you should always opt for plants like this because you don’t have to worry about researching the soil that you have. If you want to use your garden so that you can grow your own vegetables, then this is great. You can plant sorrel, rocket, gooseberries or even lettuce.
Don’t Introduce Containers
It’s so important that you avoid having too many plants in containers. Sure, having a few big ones in plant pots is great, because it stops them from overgrowing. If you have every single plant in a container however then you will constantly have to feed them, water them and even re-pot after a few months. If you do have to plant in containers, then always choose a container that is bigger than the plant needs. This way, you don’t have to water them as often.
Some plants need to be wrapped up in winter and they also need to be relocated. These are the plants that you need to avoid as much as possible. You also need to make sure that the plants that you are choosing do not require any kind of special treatment when they have been planted. By doing this, you can make sure that they thrive, and you can also avoid having too many jobs on your list when the seasons change.
Some plants need a good degree of artificial support. For example, delphiniums or even any kind of climbing plants. The reason for this is because they are very difficult to maintain, and they can quickly get out of control. They can suffocate any surrounding plants and they can also grow past the fence too.
Yes, staining your fence can look impressive and it will really improve the general appearance of your garden too, but it is also very impractical. You will find yourself having to refresh the paint time and time again and this will make it very difficult for you to stay on top of. If you want to get around this then you need to leave your fence as its natural colour. You also need to make the effort to invest in composite fencing too. This doesn’t require any staining but you can easily have that nice, bright, colourful look.
Plants can serve as food for snails. A lot of species are herbivores and they will devour any garden plants. For this reason, you need to avoid plants that have succulent leaves, such as broccoli. It also helps to have cyclamen, as this is a snail repellent.
Keeping your garden low maintenance is super easy to do. You would be surprised at how much time you could save by making a few simple changes and these tips are more than enough to get you started. Making your garden low-maintenance can also be a fantastic way for you to save money as well, so it is important that you keep that in mind when you plan out your garden structure.
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