How To Create A Low-Maintenance Garden

Whether you’re getting on in age, are experiencing mobility problems, or just don’t have the time to spend on gardening, you might think your dreams of a pristine garden are over. 

However, there are plenty of easy ways to create a low-maintenance garden that looks beautiful while leaving you with plenty of time to enjoy it. 

Let’s explore. 

7 ways to create a low-maintenance garden 

Pick plants wisely

Limiting the variety of plants you choose is the first step towards a low-maintenance garden. As well as paring back, you’ll also want to choose species wisely. For example, vegetables are notoriously high-maintenance options, as are certain species of flower. 

Your best bet is perennials and evergreens, including shrubs, as both of these will require minimal attention and won’t require replanting. 

Favour hard over soft 

Hard landscaping (decking, paving, gravel) requires much less maintenance than soft landscaping (flowers, greenery). Gardening is all about balancing hard with soft but if you’re aiming for a low-maintenance outdoor space, you’ll want to favour hard materials a little more. 

Luckily, there are plenty of beautiful low-maintenance landscaping options, such as warm wood decking and decorative aggregates and gravel, like the products we provide here at Chargrace Soils, that can give you that beauty you’re seeking while still being easier to maintain. 

Strip back your lawn 

There’s no doubt about it, caring for a perfectly pristine lawn takes effort. It should be no secret that a large well-manicured lawn is not for those who want a low-effort gardening life. That’s why reducing the area of your lawn and replacing it with more hard landscaping, as covered in the previous point, is a good option. 

For those who want a lawn but are ready to ditch pristine and manicured for wild and free, why not try a wildflower lawn? This option really takes you back to nature, requires very minimal mowing and encourages local biodiversity. 

Some people prefer to get rid of their lawn all together, instead opting for a well-designed hard landscape where decking, paving and gravel can still complement each other to create a stunning garden space. 

The best tools for the job 

Technology has moved on to the point where we can now invest in equipment that saves us both time and effort, and this extends to our garden care too. 

Gadgets such as leaf blowers, self-recoiling hoses and self-propelling lawn mowers are just a few of the time-saving tools available on the market. It’s therefore worth putting in the time to research how you can shave valuable hours off your maintenance by choosing the right equipment. 

Raised beds

Traditional gardening involves a lot of bending which isn’t ideal for everyone. Raised beds can help take the backache out of weeding and maintenance by bringing your plants up to a higher level so you can sit off to the side or in a chair, making for a more relaxed experience.

You’ll also make life easier by creating the best growing medium for your plants. Obviously, this depends on the requirements of your plants but a combination of good-quality topsoil and sharp sand creates a robust growing medium. You can also top-dress to suppress weeds, using gravel, slate or bark chippings. All the mentioned products are provided by us here at Chargrace Soils, and to the very highest quality. 

Accessible storage 

This may seem like an obvious one, but having accessible storage points in the garden for your tools, equipment and materials will save you lots of trips in and out of the house. Placing the storage at the locations in the garden where you need it most will make getting things out and putting them away plain sailing too. 

Timed or automatic irrigation

Using hoses and watering cans are therapeutic for some but a drain on time for others. Timed or automatic irrigation systems need minimal input by you to keep your greenery healthy and thriving by allowing you to control the amount and the intervals when your lawn will be watered. 

Whether you’re seeking topsoil for minimal-effort raised beds or decorative aggregates for low-maintenance surfaces, Chargrace Soils has a wide range of landscaping materials to suit any need. We are the leading landscaping material provider for our area and serve Kent, Bromley and Sevenoaks, so get in touch to arrange your easy delivery today.