Low Maintenance Gardening

The Low-Down on Low Maintenance

Moving away from a time-consuming garden to one that is low maintenance might be one of those “in your dreams” scenarios. Here’s how you can turn that dream into reality.

BY SUE SARGEANT, PASSIONATE GARDENER, NOVICE WRITER

Bluebells love a shady area

There’s a perception that achieving a lovely garden is expensive and involves hard work, lots of it. Most of that is true but there is another point of view. Our plot of 5700m² was a blank canvas 15 years ago. We started small and used the materials we had on site. Lots of stone for raised beds, huge tree stumps for ferns and succulents, and logs for edging woodland paths and borders. It took hard work to create the overall structure but, today, about half of the garden is low maintenance. The design features such as paths, raised beds, fences, arches and other permanent structures will be defined by your terrain, as well as your ability to construct the overall plan.

Here are some ideas to help with the creation of a beautiful, low maintenance garden.

Overgrown Woodland

Taking out any dead or diseased trees is quite a hard task but it will give light and space, enabling the existing trees to thrive. The old wood will make a perfect habitat for insects if stacked in a quiet corner of the garden. Mow grass paths through the area and sow wild flowers in any sunny spots. Shady areas can be transformed by planting Hardy Cyclamen, Aconites, Cowslips, Bluebells and Snowdrops. These will naturalise very quickly and provide splashes of colour all year round.

Snowdrops mean spring is on its way

DIY Gardens

A dry garden is one of the best performers in our climate. Lay gravel paths edged with stone, old roof tiles or ground cover plants such as Stachys Byzantina (Lambs Ears) to hold back the gravel. The borders should be planted with suitable drought tolerant plants such as Verbena Bonnariensis, Salvias, Phlomis, Gaura, Euphorbia and Sedum. Ornamental grasses also work well in these areas and often need little or no water. I have many grasses but some do better than others in dry conditions so it is always best to check before you buy.

Paths

Gravel paths look and sound wonderful in a garden. Generally, paths that are well trodden keep weed free but those with less footfall can become infested with seedlings and weeds.

Leaves

In autumn we blow the leaves onto the beds to provide winter warmth and the seedlings of flowers tend to stay in place. Some weeding does have to be done but it is very minimal in comparison to other garden areas.

Maintenance all round

Looking after the garden in winter

If the featured low maintenance approach is not for you, not even with a small area such as a gravel garden, there’s still work to be done. Sue Sargeant, our gardening contributor, offers her top tips for gardening tasks in January and February.

Lawns: keep grass areas free of leaves.

Compost heaps: keep warm and limber up on a cold, wintry morning by turning the heap.

Greenhouse: clean and prepare for spring sowing.

Seeds: order seeds and plug plants, online is often cheaper.

Pruning: winter pruning stimulates growth but leave Plums, Apricots, Peaches and Cherries until late spring.

Bulbs: Tulips can be planted in January, keep an eye out for promotions in garden

Bare rooted plants: check the ground around end January to mid-February and, if it’s not frozen, plant bare rooted plants (bare rooted roses and shrubs are cheaper to buy, especially online).

Vegetables: buy seed potatoes and onion sets.

Ornamental grasses: cut back mid-February.

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