Gardening is a great way to spend your time, and it can provide many mental and physical benefits. Depending on the size of your garden, keeping up with maintenance can take quite some time, but it doesn’t need to. In this blog, we’re letting you know some ideas for a low-maintenance garden design.
It’s no secret that the easiest option would likely be to remove the lawn altogether, but that could lead to you falling out of love with your garden. The good news is you don’t need to remove the grass altogether. Instead, you can look for easier ways to care for your garden. We’ve got plenty of low-maintenance garden ideas.
Low-maintenance garden design ideas
As we get further into winter, you will naturally be spending more time inside rather than relaxing in your outdoor space. It’s very important that you prepare your garden for winter to ensure minimal damage to any plants or furniture. Let’s get into some of the best low-maintenance garden ideas.
Remove fiddly bits of grass
There’s something very satisfying about mowing the lawn, but there can often be fiddly bits to contend with! These can make lawn mowing more difficult and take much longer than it needs to. You can overcome this issue by removing these areas and replacing them with something else.
Some options for replacement include garden soil and new flowers or shrubs, gravel, paving slabs or even trees. Gravel is available in many different stone sizes and colours, so there’s something to match every garden’s design! Gravel is a low-maintenance way to fill space.
Plant flowers in optimal conditions
Even as a gardening beginner, you’ll know that all plants require different conditions to thrive. This can make organising the garden a little more difficult, but there are ways around it.
The best thing to do is assess your garden, how much rain it tends to get and how much sunlight reaches different areas. Once you’ve established this, you can start planting shrubs in their most optimal locations.
By adding low-maintenance plants and flowers where they will thrive best, you’ll end up with longer-lasting flowers and a more beautiful garden.
Use long-lasting, simple plants for a fuss-free outdoor space
When we think of the word ‘simple’, many people often associate it with something that’s not very exciting. However, these simple plants can be lovely when it comes to gardening!
Many simple plants are often long-lasting, and they require minimal attention, which is perfect for those seeking a low-maintenance garden!
As we mentioned above, make sure to plant them in their optimal conditions. Choose plants that suit your outdoor space.
Add a strong garden border
A lawn edging border can really help you to organise your garden, which can help to keep maintenance to a minimum. When choosing garden border edging, you must ensure that it is strong enough to withstand various weather conditions.
FlexiBorder is made of recycled rubber, which means it is weather-resistant and robust. This also means it will last longer than many other alternatives. We understand that no two gardens are the same, so we offer a wide range of colours to suit every garden style.
Here are some of the best benefits of FlexiBorder
- Easy to install – read our blog on how to install lawn edging
- Versatile – can be used in a range of spaces
- It can be used to create focal points, as it bends to 70 degrees
- FlexiCorner can be used to add corners around your garden
- Robust, weather-resistant
- Lawnmower friendly – easy to navigate around (even awkward corners!)
- Environmentally friendly – made from recycled rubber
A garden border can be added anywhere, around the outside of your garden, to mark out a path or driveway, or even to add focus to a water or other garden feature.
Check out our online shop to see the wide range of colours we have available – our grey garden edging is very popular! You won’t regret investing in FlexiBorder.
Use raised beds
Removing weeds from the garden is no easy task unless you have enough time to keep up with it, which many people don’t! Raised beds allow you to plant flowers closer together, leaving less room for weeds to start growing. Usually, weed growth in raised beds is easier to remove, so your garden will be easier to keep tidy.
Add low-maintenance equipment
When planning a garden redesign, it’s important that you consider the longevity of new items. For example, many people choose to add wood to their designs as part of a plan for hard landscaping. Make sure that you invest in quality paint that lasts longer; otherwise, you’ll end up needing to repaint and touch up areas often, which detracts from your low-maintenance garden.
Don’t forget to take your outdoor cushions inside for winter and bring them back out for outdoor relaxing in spring! Here’s how to prepare your garden for winter.
Best low-maintenance plants
For those looking for low-maintenance gardens, you’ll need some lovely bedding plants that require minimal effort. Use a range of different plants to spark visual interest in outdoor spaces.
- Geraniums
- Wildflowers
- Holly
- Abelia
- Exotics
Another option is to invest in a good quality watering system (irrigation system). Watering the plants (even low-maintenance plants), especially in the summer, can be time-consuming, so a system may come in handy!
We hope this blog has been useful regarding how to achieve a low-maintenance garden design. Keeping maintenance levels down doesn’t mean that your garden needs to be boring; it just means you’ll have more time to enjoy the garden rather than having to work on it year-round. Discover the benefits of gardening.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the FlexiBorder product – we’re more than happy to help.
