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Also, planting heavily usually means spending heavily. A “Dutch Wave” style garden, for example, can be very low maintenance- but dormant plants are left in place until you cut swaths of the garden down to ground and then wait for them to sprout. BUT- you have to be comfortable with beautiful chaos and may need to adjust your expectations for what a garden should look like. The plants will out compete the weeds, and when a leaf drops you won’t even see it. Wait, what? If you don’t want bare dirt or bark dust, then we have to plant everything. And guess what? Empty spaces require some maintenance, but it is very simple: pull weeds, remove leaves.ĭon’t leave any open space. If you choose your plants carefully, and place them thoughtfully, you can create open spaces that have contours and meaning. You don't have to plant every square inch of your landscape. Some of this hardscape may not even be functional, but it can be beautiful.Įmbrace negative space.
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#Low maintenance landscaping free#
The investment in hardscape is often substantial, but the payoff is in years of gardening free summer Saturdays. A dry garden is one place where weed barrier actually works. Gravel is much easier to mow than grass (that might not be true, but you know what I mean). It's like buying a Great Dane for your tiny house. Don't plant Pampas grass in your parking strip. Large plants are fine too, as long as they have space to mature. But if you plant Creeping Jenny and think it won't creep? You will have to be cutting it back and pulling it out. Plants that spread are fine, as long you plant them where they have room to do so. If you really want a low care garden, this is what to expect: Maybe the problem is that I don’t discuss what “low maintenance” means ahead of time? Below is an incomplete list of techniques, elements, trade offs, and concepts that come into play when designing for less maintenance. This is true even when I make it clear that certain plants, techniques, and elements are being suggested because they keep maintenance low. I frequently present V1 of a landscape design, something that will be very easy to care for (and nice looking too), only to find that every change requested by my client undermines that goal. My clients say they want a low maintenance garden, but won’t make the sacrifices necessary to have one. I can design a landscape that is genuinely low maintenance, but I keep running into a problem. Then there are the people who really want NO maintenance (and a unicorn for a pet). Others just want a lawn care crew to be able to handle it all in 20-30 minutes a week. Some people are fine with 2-3 afternoons spent in the garden each month. And many, if not most, say they want "low maintenance landscaping". They all need help with their landscape in some way. I email, talk on the phone, and meet with dozens of people every month.