Low-maintenance Gardening Tips

Maintaining gardens need not be time-consuming, rather it should be a stress-busting activity. Those who want to spend more time in gardens can do it by all means. However, one who seeks to have a green cover without having to spend much time in gardening should read the following article.

The best way to start off with gardening, which does not require high maintenance, is choosing the right kind of plants. Native plants are the best choice for such gardens. There are many more things to consider, and the design tips provided below would prove to be helpful for sure.

• Choosing meadow grasses, which are native to your place, should be the first choice. This is because, one need not mow these grasses frequently; the effort required in maintaining such lawns is reduced to a great extent.

• The herbs to be planted in gardens should be slow-growing in nature. These plants do not need much trimming. One can plant annual or biennials for the time being; it helps in keeping the garden green.

• Digging out perennial plants and weeds before planting anything is very important. Maintenance of gardens, thus becomes easy in the long run.
• Using organic manures is a practice followed in organic gardening and is a smart way to cut down on the expenses and frequency of applying fertilizers.

• Organic fertilizers are truly 'organic' in the way they nourish plants and fulfill most of their nutrient requirements.
• In the patches/places of gardens where sunlight hardly reaches the surface, use of moss is highly recommended.

• One should think about using ground cover plants that the deer won't eat. Some of the deer-resistant plants which can be used are Northern sea oats, Allegheny spurge, Bugleweed, Liriope, Blue oat grass, Deadnettle, Creeping myrtle, Sweet woodruff, etc.

• Mulching is one of the important features of such gardens. The problems associated with weeds and moisture conservation can be tackled with this practice. The portion of garden or area covered by mulches prevents weeds from flourishing. Moisture too is retained in the soil if the surface is covered by mulches.

• If one doesn't want to use mulches, non-invasive ground cover is an effective alternative to it. One can remove weeds quite easily with the help of some plants, such as sweet woodruff, lamium, ajuga, thyme, pachysandra, etc.

• Xeriscaping plants have attained importance in gardening like never before. The practice of xeriscaping involves landscaping a ground by covering it with 'xeric' or drought-resistant plants. One can incorporate drought-resistant plants in low-maintenance gardens, due to the fact that they require less water.

• Automated irrigation systems can be used for lawns in order to reduce efforts in watering them.

The plans for gardens which require low maintenance, can be devised by using the ideas mentioned above. One should always think of designs which would prove to be useful in long term. Open bedding areas of the garden should be reduced.

If you are starting from scratch, the garden area should be properly dug i.e. one should dig as deep as possible. It helps in removing weeds by their roots. Hence, the problem of weed infestation is greatly reduced.

So, those who don't have much time to care for a garden should benefit from the different tips given above. Happy gardening!