The Best Low-Maintenance Plants For Simple, Stylish Gardens
Low-maintenance gardens are gaining popularity among homeowners nationwide due to the numerous benefits they offer. Most homeowners are overwhelmed with daily tasks and responsibilities, so adding another thing to their list is just not feasible. This is why a low-maintenance garden is so attractive.
These outdoor spaces are designed to be easy to take care of and require less work than traditional gardens, making them ideal for busy homeowners as well as those with limited abilities, a tight budget or who are simply not interested in garden maintenance.
A key part of these low-maintenance landscapes is the plants used throughout. No garden is complete without soft landscaping, which provides visual interest, seasonal appeal, and can attract wildlife, and you do not have to compromise your low-maintenance requirements to join in.
In this post, leading landscape gardeners Taming Mother Nature are sharing the best low-maintenance plants to include in your garden to provide effortless style throughout the seasons.
What Is A Low-Maintenance Plant? Key Characteristics of Low-Maintenance Planting
Low-maintenance plants can come in many forms, but they all share similar characteristics, such as:
- Drought-Tolerance: These kinds of low-maintenance plants are tolerant of dry, hot conditions and require less watering than traditional planting options.
- Pest and Disease Resistance: Many hardy plants are not as susceptible to pests and diseases as others, preventing the need for treatments, chemical pesticides or constant pruning.
- Slow-Growing: By being slow-growing, these plants do not need regular pruning, and this lack of work will not hinder the visual appeal of your outdoor space.
- Perennials: Perennials will come back every year without any additional work, allowing you to maintain a consistent garden design without effort
Top Low-Maintenance Plants For Simple Yet Stylish Gardens
Now that you understand what makes a low-maintenance plant and the benefits these can provide, it is time to consider how they can be implemented into your garden.
No matter the garden design you desire, there are various low-maintenance plants you can include to create effortless style, such as:
Easy-Care Evergreens For Structure And Style
Evergreens are a staple of low-maintenance gardens because they offer year-round greenery, as they keep their leaves throughout the seasons. Shrubs such as hebe, boxwood, phormium, and choisya provide year-round structure to your outdoor space, whether you desire privacy screening or to create zones in the landscape.
As the leaves remain, these low-maintenance plants do not require as much pruning as other shrubs and will offer year-round colour in your landscape. They ensure your garden looks the same all year round. Many evergreen shrubs (such as boxwood) grow slowly and keep their shape for long periods, allowing you to have a neat landscape without the effort.
These low-maintenance plants are ideal for low hedges, borders of the garden and privacy screening throughout the seasons.
Drought-Tolerant Flowering Plants
Drought-tolerant plants are a great addition to low-maintenance landscapes because they require less watering and feeding than other species. Plants such as lavender, sedum, coneflowers, and salvia are a great way to add colour to your low-maintenance garden without the effort of traditional options.
As they are drought-tolerant, these plants can go a long time without watering and will continue to thrive in the high heat of summer. In well-drained soil conditions, these plants can thrive organically and will bloom during the warmer months of the year to add pops of colour to your garden. With the flowers, these low-maintenance plants are pollinator-friendly and a great solution for sustainable outdoor spaces.
These plants thrive in sunny areas, making them ideal for south-facing gardens, flower beds, and even gravel areas to add colour and interest.
Ground Cover Plants For Weed Suppression
Ground cover plants are a great way to fill out planting displays, flower beds, or to add colour to an otherwise hardscaped garden. Plants such as creeping thyme, ajuga, and geraniums can essentially be left to their own devices as they are low-growing. They will grow in a range of locations across your garden to soften the edges of hardscaping, such as paving, patios or decking, and require less pruning than other species.
Ground covers can be great alternatives to traditional lawns, as they offer greenery without the same levels of work, as well as ways to fill in the gaps within planting displays. Used throughout the garden, these low-maintenance plants can add traditional appeal to paved areas and pops of colour.
As well as being low-growing, these ground covers are ideal for low-maintenance gardens because they provide weed suppression. They support soil conditions and prevent weeds from growing across your ground space or in planting areas, reducing the need for gardening, weeding, and mowing.
Ornamental Grasses For Texture And Movement
Ornamental grasses are a staple within both low-maintenance and contemporary outdoor spaces. These are a great way to add visual interest to your garden without overwhelming the space or adding more tasks to your to-do list.
Ornamental grasses such as Mexican feathergrass, Festuca glauca, and Miscanthus offer a unique texture to the garden and can be planted both in pots and in planting borders. They offer texture and movement to the garden, creating areas of interest without having too much colour or work. This is why they are so popular in contemporary garden design, and a great way to add modern appeal to your landscape.
These plants do not require pruning, and can thrive with an annual trim to keep them in a consistent, attractive shape. When paired with perennials, they can create stunning planting displays and provide depth to planting containers throughout the garden.
Low-Maintenance Container Plants
Container planting is a great way to make your garden low-maintenance. Container plants, such as dwarf conifers, sedums, and even hardy herbs like rosemary, allow you to better control soil conditions, reducing the need for constant watering and feeding. You can reduce these tasks even further by using self-watering containers or automatic feeders, which will handle the work for you.
Container plants allow you to add colour, texture and scent to your outdoor space without the commitment. This is a great option for small gardens, as well as patios or decks. Containers can come in a range of shapes and colours for additional visual interest, and allow you to create a flexible garden design that can adjust according to the seasons or occasions.
Containers and pots can also be used on windowsills or balconies, ensuring that no matter what kind of home you have, you too can experience the beauty of nature around you.
Conclusion
Low-maintenance plants are a great way to create a stunning outdoor space that does not take too much time or money to take care of. A thriving garden usually means ongoing work to keep it this way, but with low-maintenance plants such as evergreen shrubs, hardy perennials, and container herbs, this does not have to be the case. You can experience an attractive, consistent garden design by using low-maintenance plants without adding another task to your list.
At Taming Mother Nature, we have seen an increase in popularity for low-maintenance landscapes and regularly offer low-maintenance plants to our clients. We understand that with busy routines, most homeowners these days cannot afford a traditional garden and provide alternatives to many.
Using low-maintenance plants reduces tasks such as weeding, watering and pruning without compromising visual appeal, so you have more time to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.
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FAQs
Can low-maintenance plants still attract bees and butterflies?
Yes, many drought-tolerant perennials, such as lavender and coneflowers, are pollinator-friendly but do not require as much pruning or watering as traditional options.
Should I mulch my low-maintenance plants?
Mulching is a great way to make your planting areas more self-sufficient as it offers weed suppression, retains moisture and provides essential nutrients to your flowers.
What is the best time of year to plant low-maintenance flowers and shrubs?
It is best to plant during either spring or early autumn, as this gives the roots time to establish before the heat of summer or frost in winter.
