A beautiful lawn or garden is usually a result of hard work and delicate plant care practices.
However, if you do not have time to meticulously tend to plants, do not be discouraged. You can opt to have a lovely lawn or garden that requires less maintenance and still look as good.
Here are some guidelines to get you started:
- Use draught-resistant plants
Some plants require a lot of watering in dry seasons, which is tedious and time consuming. Use drought resistant perennials for your lawn so that you do not have plant-care challenges during the dry seasons.
Buy plants that will survive all year long depending on the climate in your area.
- Do not underestimate mulching
Mulching is one of the best landscaping practices. It involves lying dry leaves and twigs in between your plants. It covers the soil and keeps it cool, hence reducing water loss.
Mulching also saves water, suppresses weeds, and adds minerals and nutrients into the soil. You can use commercially made mulch, or you can make your own with dried tall grass and twigs.
- Install an automatic irrigation system
People with large lawns may not have enough time to tend to plants and water them individually. Having an automatic irrigation system saves time, energy, and water.
You can have a timed system that waters the lawn in the morning and evening. Others have automatic sensors activated by movement or other triggers.
You should have a professional test your soil to tell you how much water is enough as well as give you installation options.
- Plant-free landscaping
Landscaping is generally the art of lawn and garden beautification. It is not necessary to have plants if you do not have enough time and resources to take care of them. Select a landscape design that minimizes the use of plants. You can build a rock garden with a water feature such as a waterfall or a fountain. Rock gardens require minimal plants that are self-sustaining and require less maintenance too.
- Know your grass well
Plant the right type of grass for your soil type as well as climate conditions. Plant grass that does not require constant mowing to look neat.
If you have a high-traffic homestead with many people and pets, do not plant soft delicate grass. Plant and nurture grass that can hold foot and paw traffic without sustaining patches. Build walkways in between to save the grass from traffic.
- Get grass alternatives
Grass requires a lot of time and energy to maintain since it needs watering, mowing and weeding. As an alternative, consider plants that have less maintenance needs such as moss, deer resistant ground cover plants, and others. These varieties will save you time and the lawn stays green for long periods.
- Think about winter
People ignore winter since the yard will be covered in snow, hence they assume that their work will be minimal. However, the work of clearing snow from the driveway is more serious than lawn maintenance.
Include snow-melting systems in your landscape so that you have an easy time during winter. Modern technology gives you many options for snow melting systems that you can install on your lawns.
