Having a lovely outdoor living space to relax in and breathe fresh air is wonderful, but maintaining it can be a huge drag. Instead of sweating over it, try low-maintenance landscaping, like planting native plants, using grass alternatives, switching to automatic irrigation, or installing hardscaping features.
Knowing where to start might seem tough, but this list can inspire some ideas. We give 13 low-maintenance landscape ideas to make your life easier and free up some spare time.
- 13 great ways to make your landscaping low-maintenance
- 1. Choose low-maintenance flowers and plants
- 2. Switch out annuals for perennials
- 3. Grow native plants
- 4. Grow low-maintenance turfgrass
- 5. Opt for grass alternatives
- 6. Add trees
- 7. Install hardscaping
- 8. Take up container gardening
- 9. Switch to automatic irrigation
- 10. Look into xeriscaping
- 11. Cover bare soil with mulch
- 12. Replace your hedges
- 13. Space plants closer together
- FAQs about low-maintenance landscaping
13 great ways to make your landscaping low-maintenance
1. Choose low-maintenance flowers and plants
One of the best things you can do to reduce your landscaping’s maintenance is to plant low-maintenance flowers and other plants. Low maintenance means they typically need less water, don’t require fertilization — or require very little — and don’t generally need to be trimmed, pruned, or deadheaded.
Here are some excellent candidates for your landscaping:
- Succulents are low-maintenance options, as they are related to cacti. With thick, fleshy leaves that store water, they can be potted or planted in the ground (even rocky and sandy soils) and only require watering when the soil is bone dry. They thrive with plenty of sunlight, so if you live in a dry area and struggle to keep other plants alive, they could be a fantastic landscaping choice.
- Rhododendrons are a relative of azaleas. Once established, their beautiful, vibrant blooms and evergreen foliage require little pruning or fertilization, and the plants are naturally resistant to pests and many diseases.
- Lavender is another low-maintenance plant for your garden, one that smells fantastic. It thrives in full sun, requires minimal watering, and is highly resistant to diseases and pests.
- Hydrangeas, in various species, are relatively low-maintenance plants. They add long-lasting beauty to partial or shady spots in your yard. Do some research to find the right ones for you and your garden.
- Daylilies are an incredibly low-maintenance flower that looks beautiful. They have few diseases or pests and are very hardy, surviving various harsh conditions such as drought.
- Knock-out roses are a fantastic alternative to traditional types. They come in a range of colors but need very little pruning and “self-clean,” meaning they drop spent petals, so you don’t need to deadhead old blooms.
2. Switch out annuals for perennials
Beyond choosing flowers that need very little care, you can take it one step further and start swapping out annual plants (petunias, marigolds, impatiens) for longer-living perennials (dianthus, daylilies, Shasta daisies). If you’re unfamiliar with annual versus perennial plants, annuals only live one season, and perennials live many years.
Planting perennials cuts down on planting in the spring, helping to get your season off to an easy start. There’s no need to go pick out flats of flowers, bring them home, and then get them in the ground.
There are also many different perennials to choose from. They bloom in various colors at different times, so you can plant a mix to help keep your garden beds beautiful year-round. Their needs will differ from plant to plant, but you should be able to find some to suit you and your landscaping aesthetic.
3. Grow native plants
Another good tip for reducing your landscaping maintenance is to look for plants native to your area. Native plants require much less upkeep (typically in terms of fertilizer and water) than non-native plants and will thrive much better since they’re growing in their ideal environment.
Native plants also help the local ecosystem by attracting pollinators and maintaining biodiversity. Common native plants include black-eyed Susans, echinacea, bleeding hearts, coral bells, and lobelia.
When choosing native plants, it’s important to remember the recommendation by Pamela Hubbard, Master Gardener of Monroe County, Pennsylvania: “It is always important, however, to remember the mantra, ‘Right plant, right place.’ ” Always remember to put plants in a spot where they’ll thrive – someplace where they’ll get the right amount of sunlight and planted in the best soil type. Even if they’re native, they still need an appropriate space to thrive.
4. Grow low-maintenance turfgrass
Forest and Kim Starr | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 3.0 US
Another excellent idea for low-maintenance landscaping is choosing a grass type that requires minimal care. After all, keeping your grass looking beautiful can seem like a full-time job at times with all of the watering, fertilizing, and mowing.
Plenty of low-maintenance warm-season and cool-season grasses look good and require less work. Some common low-maintenance grasses include:
- Zoysiagrass is a warm-season grass with a deep root system. It can tolerate heavy foot traffic and is drought-tolerant.
- Bermudagrass is another warm-season grass that grows quickly, has high wear tolerance, and is relatively resistant to common Bermudagrass insects and diseases.
- Buffalograss, another warm-season grass, is soft, and makes good turf. It grows slowly, cutting down on mowing frequency, and produces little thatch.
- Bahiagrass is a warm-season grass that can thrive where others struggle. It has excellent heat, drought, and salt tolerance.
- Tall fescue grass is a good cool-season grass that can tolerate heat, drought, and cold.
5. Opt for grass alternatives
If you don’t like a traditional grass lawn or don’t have the energy or resources to maintain one, you can remove it and put in something that doesn’t require as much upkeep. Here are a few grass alternatives, along with some tips:
- With gravel or rock in the place of grass, you can skip the hassle of lawn care altogether. It still requires some maintenance — such as periodically raking it back into place — but much less so than Kentucky bluegrass or St. Augustine. You have various options for stony materials for a gravel yard, including river rocks, volcanic stones, granite, and even glass.
- Artificial turfgrass can give the appearance of a lawn without needing all the maintenance, sans periodic cleaning. It doesn’t need to be mowed or watered and withstands all activities and weather conditions. Don’t worry – your yard won’t look like a football field. Today’s artificial turf comes in varying color gradients and heights — ranging in cost from $5.45 to $20 per square foot — to look and feel more like the real thing. Lawn Love can even help you choose the right artificial grass for your lawn.
- Turn your yard into a meadow of wildflowers! If you want greenery in your yard that you don’t have to maintain, consider planting a blanket of native grasses and wildflowers. You can find mats of grasses and flowers for sale online, and you can let them grow into your meadow or seed the space with plants adapted to your local conditions.
- Greenery without grass. Another option is to plant groundcover plants instead of a traditional lawn. Good plants for this include clover, rupturewort, bugle, and certain species of thyme.
- Turn your yard into a deck. If you want to customize your backyard fully, you can deck over it. This might be easier with small backyards, but it also should be possible with medium to large ones.
- A rock garden is a good addition to a traditional or alternative lawn and a great way to reduce maintenance. You can create a beautiful, carefree space without removing your entire yard or garden if you don’t want to.
6. Add trees
Trees are a great focal point in a backyard or garden and can be lower maintenance than other options. Here are a few trees you can plant that are particularly easy to care for.
- Once Japanese maples have established themselves, they’re a beautiful low-maintenance tree that can add a touch of color to your landscaping.
- Serviceberry is another low-maintenance tree that produces edible fruit for you to enjoy.
- Crape myrtle trees come in a variety of options and are very hardy. They tolerate heat and drought and can thrive in many different soil types.
- Magnolia trees are beautiful trees that smell amazing and have stunning flowers.
- Jacaranda trees thrive in warm areas with lots of sun. Once established, they’re low-maintenance and resistant to pests, diseases, and droughts.
- Redbud trees are great for smaller yards. They grow fast, are heat, drought, insect, and disease resistant, and look beautiful.
7. Install hardscaping
Adding hardscape elements to your yard can help make the landscape low-maintenance since they take up space that higher-maintenance options like grass or flower gardens may otherwise occupy.
- For a low-maintenance garden, install retaining walls. They will reduce the surface area you need to mow and trim and protect your plants and lawn from harmful erosion and the elements.
- Raised flower beds are another option to help make your landscaping less maintenance-intensive. They can cut down on the area you have to mow, and raised beds often reduce weed growth and have fewer problems with pests and diseases.
- Adding a path is another good way to help reduce yard maintenance. This can give you a walkway to stroll through and enjoy your garden while cutting down on the area you must maintain. You can use gravel, paver stones, or any other material for your path.
8. Take up container gardening
Consider a container garden if you want to exercise your green thumb without too much effort. In this type of garden, plants are kept in pots instead of in the ground. These plants are much easier to care for than a traditional garden, require less time and effort, and can be swapped out and customized to your liking.
You can choose a variety of plants:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Herbs
- Flowers
- Succulents
- Non-flowering plants
- Trees and shrubs
9. Switch to automatic irrigation
If you like a lush lawn and blooming flowers but don’t have the time or energy to water them all, an automatic sprinkler system can take all that hassle out of your life. Aside from the initial installation, repairs, and winterization, it reduces your day-to-day work. Most of the time, all you have to do is watch the irrigation system keep your yard and garden green.
10. Look into xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is a landscaping practice that aims to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation. According to the National Geographic Society, it often means replacing traditional lawns with soil and rocks, mulch, and native drought-tolerant plant species.
Although you won’t be able to eliminate your landscaping’s irrigation needs completely, you can significantly reduce them. Replacing grass with rock, gravel, or some of the best xeriscaping plants drops watering needs exponentially. Drip irrigation is typically used to water the plants because of its efficiency and customizability.
To get the most out of your xeriscaping, Ray Daugherty, program coordinator and faculty in the Horticulture and Landscape Program at Front Range Community College’s Westminster Campus says, “Plants should be grouped by function, light requirements, water use and other factors. Since your xeriscape will have low, moderate and high water use areas, your sprinkler system must be planned to water plants when they need it, instead of the every-other-day irrigation used in traditional landscapes.”
11. Cover bare soil with mulch
Laying down mulch in your flower beds and around trees and shrubs can prevent weeds and help the soil retain moisture, lessening maintenance. Mulch prices vary depending on the type and quantity you need, but you can expect to pay $3.25 to $6.50 per bag or about $85 per cubic yard.
Are you interested in mulch but short on money? You can find free mulch in your area to help with your low-maintenance landscaping.
12. Replace your hedges
Depending on the type of hedges in your yard, you may spend a lot of time trimming them to keep everything neat. High-maintenance plants like laurel, arborvitae, and western red cedar need trimming every four to six weeks.
If you want to keep a privacy screen, border, or living fence on your property but want to trim your maintenance costs, switch those hedges out for ornamental grasses. You can keep your divider but eliminate pruning and maybe even watering. Some of the best drought-tolerant ornamental grasses include fountain grass, panic grass, and purple needlegrass.
13. Space plants closer together
Some may argue that this last low-maintenance idea is a good one, but another way to reduce landscaping tasks is to group flowering plants, shrubs, and ornamental grasses closer together than is recommended. Planting stuff closer together helps shield the soil, keeping weeds to a minimum and helping retain soil moisture. Less weeding and less watering!
FAQs about low-maintenance landscaping
Is it expensive to install low-maintenance landscaping?
Yes, it can be expensive to install low-maintenance landscaping. However, the cost depends on the project. Any landscaping comes with a price tag, and prices increase as the project size grows. Ripping out your grass and installing hardscape features will cost significantly more than planting perennials or native plants.
How much maintenance will low-maintenance landscaping require?
Any outdoor space requires some level of maintenance, no matter how small. How much it needs depends on how far you’re going to achieve a care-free landscape. If you do a complete lawn replacement that reduces maintenance in every possible way, then maintenance will shrink significantly more than simply planting low-maintenance grass and flowers.
Can I make my landscaping low-maintenance if I have a big yard?
Yes. Although maintenance needs will inevitably increase with size, you can still create a low-maintenance outdoor space with a large backyard or front yard.
Call in a pro to transform your yard
If you want landscaping that won’t require much maintenance but can’t get it right, it’s time to hire a professional. Reach out to Lawn Love, and we’ll connect you with local landscaping experts who can help you create a low-maintenance outdoor space. Or, you can hand over your lawn care chores like mowing and fertilizing to someone else — our local professionals are well-equipped to handle the job.
Sources
Main Image Credit: singjai | Adobe Stock Free | License
