Daily life is so busy that even the hot and long summer days don’t give us enough time to get the things done that we want to. But sitting back with a relaxing beverage on the patio is most enjoyable when you’re surrounded by your beautiful low maintenance landscape – not unfinished projects and reminders of work still to be done.
Instead of fussing over a whole garden of Prima Donna plants, consider planting some that you know are easy to look after. You can go fully low-maintenance for a simple backyard experience or you can just choose some low-maintenance fillers to allow you to focus on your favorite plants. Either way, you can still have a yard that is thriving, blooming, and ready to be enjoyed and shared.
Choosing the Right Plants
Watering, pruning and maintaining a weed-free look can take up a lot of time, and sometimes our plants may still fall victim to pests. A lot of this can be avoided by planting native or low-maintenance plants that are tough enough to thrive in our normal climate and conditions.
Natives are usually your most hands-off plantings as they’ve evolved to be perfectly suited to our climate the way that it is. You can plant these and forget about them because they have all they need to thrive without any intervention. Some people are still in love with the vibrant colors of their favorite (but water guzzling) tropical annuals, so a good compromise is to select “well-adapted” plants that might have a bit more of that visual factor that you crave, while still being low-maintenance when it comes to water and upkeep.
Our Favorite Low-Maintenance Plants
Low-maintenance doesn’t have to mean low-quality. Here are some of our favorite plants that don’t require much to be their brilliant selves:
- Ornamental Grasses: There was a time that grass was just for the lawn, but that time is over. Now, there are plenty of grass types that are specifically meant to add a decorative element in your landscape design. While they don’t bloom, their sweeping figure is the perfect contrast to the flowers already in your garden. Not to mention, they’re hardy and easy to care for. Check out our favorites, such as Feather Reed Grass, Prairie Dropseed Grass, and Little Bluestem for the best texture, flow, and headache-free landscape care.
- Baptisia: Also known as Blue False Indigo, this plant’s name gives an impression of what it’s like in the garden. Enjoy their bright blooms and all of the buzzing bumblebees that they attract. For a plant that’s incredibly tough, the spires of flowers on them would never suggest that they aren’t bred for beauty alone.
- Daylilies: This perennial is a surefire way to impress in the garden. While their blooms are short-lived, they’re so beautiful that you simply can’t help but appreciate them. These flowers capture the heart of a summer that is just slipping by too fast. Enjoy a selection of hundreds of cultivars with different colors, shapes, sizes, and bloom times. It’s not so common to find a summer bloom so easily customizable to fit your landscape design so perfectly.
- Hostas: These plants are another opportunity to add some foliage interest to your garden without sacrificing style. Hostas are incredibly popular right now, but the sheer number of different variations means you can have this common plant without matching every house on the block. Our favorites are Island Breeze and Stained Glass for their bold colors and fun variations that make them stand out in the garden.
- Cone Flowers: These blooms are incredibly tough, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at their pretty shape. Like open daisies, with their petals spread perfectly around a round seed core, these flowers are a great native addition to your garden. Two of our favorites are Tiki Torch and Pow-Wow Wildberry for their impressive saturated color, but you can choose cone flowers in every shade of the rainbow.
- Spireas: These flowering plants have joined the ranks of hydrangeas and rhododendrons as some of the most popular blooming plants to have in your garden. Including spireas not only saves you time and work, but also makes your garden look up-to-date. We love how long their blooms last, making them something to enjoy for much longer in the season than many other plants. Check our the Magic Carpet variety for an outstanding show of color that won’t disappoint.
Mulching
Picking the right plants is key to making sure that your garden stays low-maintenance, but there are other steps you can take to make sure that your whole landscape isn’t demanding an unfair amount of your time.
Mulching is the underappreciated secret of low-maintenance gardens. For a landscape that just falls in place and is effortlessly beautiful, consider mulching. You’ll enjoy watering everything less, weeding less, and providing an ecological base of pest-fighters that your plants need. In addition to all this, it makes your landscape look impressively tidy. It’s a win-win-win.
Low Maintenance Lawns
Between mowing, watering, and feeding, lawn care can take up an astounding number of hours in your week. All of that hard work might have you craving an easier way that will allow you to just sit back and relax a little more. Something simple like regularly topdressing your lawn with organic material can be the key to helping it grow healthier and retain water better. This can cut down on some weeding and watering chores.
Get started towards a landscape that doesn’t take too much of your time, but looks effortlessly beautiful, with some of these great plants and garden care tips. You’ll get to spend more time appreciating your landscape and less time working on it. Don’t worry, we won’t tell your neighbours all of your secrets to keeping things gorgeous AND stress-free.
