The Best Low-Maintenance Plants For Easy Gardens
Now that summer is officially underway, you want to be able to take advantage of it. Spending time outdoors during the summer is a wonderful way to make use of your garden, and can be an ideal setting for a range of parties, events, and occasions this season.
From family barbecues and al fresco dinner dates to lazy afternoons sunbathing, there are plenty of ways you can use your garden this season, and you do not want to delay. As the Great British weather is so unpredictable, every sunny day counts, so you want to ensure that your garden is always ready.
Low-maintenance outdoor spaces are incredibly popular at all times of the year, but play a special role during the summer. These gardens have been uniquely designed to reduce the need for gardening tasks, such as watering and weeding, so they are always ready for the occasion. If you want to make the most of the summer, consider creating a smarter garden.
In this post, leading landscape gardeners Ideal Building & Landscapes are sharing the top low-maintenance plants every garden can benefit from to create an easier routine. These plants can be added to any style or size landscape to reduce the need for seasonal care, making it easier for you to enjoy the summer while it lasts.
Why Choose Low-Maintenance Plants?
Low-maintenance plants offer a range of benefits for homeowners and are an incredibly popular option across all kinds of landscapes. Whether you’re designing a contemporary outdoor space or prefer something more traditional and colourful, low-maintenance plants can offer benefits such as:
- Saves Time And Effort: The primary appeal of low-maintenance plants is the fact that they save you time and effort. These hardy, evergreen, or drought-resistant plants reduce the need for constant attention, so you have more time to enjoy the garden. The lack of work does not hinder the health or beauty of your garden, as these plants will continue to thrive without additional support.
- Consistent Appearance: Most low-maintenance plants remain the same all year round, such as evergreen shrubs. This means your garden looks the same and maintains the desired structure throughout the seasons, ensuring consistent appeal.
- Cost-Effective: Without the need for constant gardening, you can save money with a low-maintenance garden by using fewer tools, water, and expensive treatments to keep it looking its best
- Sustainable: Likewise, without the need for constant watering and treatments, low-maintenance plants are incredibly environmentally-friendly. They put less pressure on the planet – and your wallet.
The Best Low-Maintenance Plants For Smarter Gardening
There are various kinds of low-maintenance plants that you can add to your landscape to reduce gardening tasks without compromising health and visual appeal. No matter the kind of garden design you choose or the condition of your landscape, there are certain to be some low-maintenance plants to suit you, with options such as:
Drought-Tolerant Perennials
Perennials are a popular option for both traditional and low-maintenance gardens because they return year after year. However, these specific low-maintenance plants require little watering once established and will remain a beautiful staple in your outdoor space for years to come – without the effort or cost.
- Lavender: Renowned for its calming scent, lavender is one of the best low-maintenance plants for all kinds of outdoor spaces. The purple flowers add a pop of colour to any outdoor space and the aroma continues all year round.
- Sedum (Stonecrop): With succulent leaves and clusters of pink or white flowers in the summer, sedum is a great option for flower beds and borders for structure all year round
- Echinacea (Coneflower): These beautiful daisy-like flowers add colour and interest to low-maintenance planting displays and can attract wildlife to your garden.
Ground Covers
These low-maintenance plants spread across bare soil and are a great solution for easy gardens because they can suppress weeds and retain moisture. This means they can essentially look after themselves and are therefore a great option for busy homeowners and those who want full planting displays without the effort.
- Geranium ‘Rozanne’: These ground cover plants have a long flowering season, providing lasting colour and visual interest to your low-maintenance landscape. Their purple-blue flowers are incredibly attractive and low-growing, so pruning is not necessary.
- Thyme: This popular herb is also a great solution for your low-maintenance landscape because it is evergreen. It is a great option to fill out planting displays or to use between paving stones for a traditional appeal. The fragrance also adds to the appeal of your landscape, and the plant is edible, making it useful.
- Ajuga (Bugle): This is an incredibly attractive, low-maintenance plant that has blue flowers with contrasting purple foliage. It is low-growing to reduce the need for pruning and can cover large ground areas with ease.
Evergreen Shrubs
Evergreen shrubs are a staple of low-maintenance landscapes and can be used in both the back and front garden for screening, visual appeal and lasting structure. Evergreen shrubs maintain their leaves all year round, offering a consistent design in your outdoor spaces.
- Box (Buxus): A staple in many UK gardens, box shrubs are a great solution for neat hedging or shaped topiary. They maintain their leaves all year round to provide formality and structure to your garden.
- Photinia ‘Red Robin’: For both structure and colour, these low-maintenance plants are a unique solution. New leaves grow in a vibrant red shade, which contrasts beautifully with the deep green of mature foliage.
- Choisya (Mexican Orange Blossom): While the glossy green leaves of this evergreen shrub remain throughout the year, it does provide seasonal appeal with its fragrant white flowers that bloom in spring.
Long-Flowering Plants
By choosing long-flowering plants that bloom over several months, you can reduce gardening tasks such as deadheading and fertilising while also keeping your garden colourful. Unlike traditional blooms, these flowers offer colour and fragrance over several months or throughout the seasons for lasting appeal.
- Salvia ‘Caradonna’: These pollinator-friendly plants produce deep purple, spire-shaped flowers which last from late spring until autumn. It is also a drought-resistant plant which requires little watering throughout the seasons.
- Coreopsis: This low-maintenance plant produces cheery yellow flowers which can thrive for months at a time even with little to no additional support.
- Nepeta (Catmint): Similar to lavender and salvia in both structure and colour, these purple-blue flowers are long-lasting and aromatic throughout the seasons.
Low-Care Grasses And Structural Plants
These low-maintenance plants are ideal for contemporary outdoor spaces, as well as those seeking to add more texture and visual appeal to their landscape. Used as a focal point or filler in planting displays, these plants require little to no maintenance to thrive.
- Stipa Tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass): This beautiful low-maintenance plant has a fine, flowing structure that brings movement to the garden and unique textures to planting displays or focal corners.
- Phormium (New Zealand Flax): With its bold, upright foliage in either bronze, green or striped forms, this low-maintenance plant is a striking addition to contemporary gardens and offers long-lasting appeal.
- Fatsia Japonica: The glossy, tropical-looking leaves of this plant are highly attractive in a range of garden designs and are suitable for all landscapes because it is shade-tolerant. These leaves are evergreen and will remain a staple in your garden throughout the year.
Conclusion
Low-maintenance plants are a great way to create a vibrant, thriving garden that requires little to no upkeep. From hardy perennials to evergreen shrubs and structural plants, there are various options to add more interest to your outdoor space without giving yourself more work.
Creating a low-maintenance garden can be extremely beneficial for busy homeowners and allows you to take advantage of the summer months without having to work for it. Get yourself outdoors this season and enjoy the beauty around you by focusing on low-maintenance plants, to avoid feeling like you have another task to tick off.
For additional support when it comes to caring for your garden, consider working with professional landscapers like Ideal Building & Landscapes. Our team is experienced and certified in a range of areas, offering comprehensive solutions to bring out the best in your landscape.
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To learn more about our services or request a quote, please contact the team today.
FAQs
What is the easiest plant to grow in the UK?
Hardy perennials such as lavender, sedum, and geraniums are some of the easiest plants for UK gardens and require little maintenance once established.
Can I have colour in my low-maintenance garden?
Absolutely! Low-maintenance does not have to mean boring, and there are plenty of plants you can include for colour. Many low-maintenance plants provide colourful foliage or vibrant flowers throughout the season to ensure an interesting, but easy outdoor space.
How do I reduce weeding in my garden?
Mulching or ground cover plants are an effective way to suppress weeds in your garden. You can also plan planters with dense displays to filter out unwanted growth, as there will be no room for weeds.
