Caxton magazines staffIf you don’t have hours to spend on keeping your garden looking great, here are some great low maintenance gardening tips
Use the no dig method
When you first prepare beds, dig deeply adding compost to the topsoil. Then sit back and let worms, insects and microbes work organic materials into the soil.
Plant self-seeding annuals
Good self-seeding plants are alyssum, forget-me-nots, Primula malacoides and marigolds. They come back year after year and all you have to do is allow them to go to seed.
Install an irrigation system
Make watering one less thing to worry. Put it on a timer and include a rain sensor to turn it off should it rain. Here’s how to make a DIY irrigation system out of plastic bottles.
Reduce the amount of lawn
Try the more modern approach by replacing sections with gravel or with a faux grass such as Duraturf.
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Plant hardworking plants
Choose varieties that look good all year round with little attention such as agapanthus, lavender and daisies.
Include more hard landscaping
Replace lawns and beds in some areas with hard landscaping such as paving, pebbles or decking.
Keep to straight lines
Avoid elaborate border shapes; rather stick to straight lines or belts when creating borders or planning lawn areas. Use old bricks to create a budget border.
Use edgings
Prevent lawn from creeping into beds and make mowing and edge trimming easier by edging borders with pebbles, cobblestones, bricks or wooden split poles.
Choose indigenous plants
Once established, these plants won’t need extra watering, except during very hot spells or in winter.
Try out one of these trendy indigenous plants
Plant annuals and bulbs in containers
Position them in well-used areas, such as on the patio or along pathways, to make the most of their colour and to make it easy to water and care for them on a daily basis.
