Low maintenance gardens - part 1
Introduction
Modern life always seems extraordinarily busy, and for those who don’t want to garden as a hobby, the idea of creating another weekend chore - toiling in the garden - is not exactly attractive.
Normal low-maintenance options for gardens usually involve tiles, concrete, or large areas of artificial grass - all of which contribute to excess heat in our cities. These options are also more maintenance than they seem at first: tiles and concrete need regular washing so that they don’t become slippery and dangerous, and they all require regular weeding around the edges (or cracks) since nature always finds a way to cultivate weeds.
So how would we use natural solutions instead? It turns out, we can create special types of gardens which are
low maintenance,
rich in biodiversity,
significantly cooler in summer,
and reduce water use (compared with a lawn or other garden types).
These have the added bonus of being lush and colourful, as well as quick to establish. For example, the garden in the photo below was started from scratch four months ago, and already requires almost no weeding (a 5 minute touch up once per month), and has very low water requirements, despite being in full sun.
So how can you do this at home? The key steps are:
Careful plant choice
Layering of plants
Starting with the correct number of plants
In today’s blog, we’ll cover plant choice - stay tuned for future editions where we’ll cover layering and plant number.
Plant Choice
Beginning with the right plants will make your life a lot easier. Now is not the time for the sensitive, fussy exotic plants: native plants and easy-to-grows are winners!
Plant type
How to choose native plants will be the subject of a future blog. For other plants suitable to your environment, the easiest tip to help your choice is to peek over the fence at your neighbours. Do they have plants that you find beautiful, and that seem to be indestructible? Ask them for the name! Better yet, ask if they might have a cutting or seedling for you - more environmentally friendly than a garden centre!
Sun or Shade?
The other key tip is to pay attention to how much sunlight your new garden will receive, and the type of soil that you have. Choosing plants that are suitable to the area means they’ll thrive, rather than looking sickly and withering away. This information is readily available - plant guides can help find the best conditions for your plant. Make sure to also check water requirements: matching these to the climate of your area reduces the need for watering.
Perennials and Evergreens
Whenever I’m making a new garden, I make it a priority to look for perennials and evergreens.
Perennials are plants that survive many years, rather than annuals (one year), or biennial (two years). The advantage here is that once you’ve planted them, they will last many seasons, which will reduce the need for replacing plants in the future.
Evergreens are always important for me, since they’ll stay green in winter, and give your garden interest all year round. To me, a garden that’s reduced to naked branches in winter is less appealing, so including at least some evergreens makes it more cheerful. There are also evergreens that flower in winter, such as winter-flowering honeysuckle or hellebores: including these will provide food for pollinators during difficult months.
Variety
Last but not least - variety brings more interest to your garden, and can also be seen as hedging your bets regarding survival, for those that are less confident.
A good tip here is to look at the blooming times of the plants you choose. Having different plants with different bloom times can ensure that you have some flowers in your garden from early Spring until late Autumn, providing interest and food for our pollinator friends.
In conclusion
The above list may seem overwhelming, so starting with a small area can really help - as can asking a green-thumbed friend for advice!
Do you have particular questions over plants for your low-maintenance garden? Ask in the comments or reach out for a personal garden plan.
