As anyone with a garden is aware, there is no such thing as a ‘no maintenance garden’. Whatever size of outdoor space you have, it needs to be tended and cared for on some level. For me personally, a hugely fulfilling aspect of gardening, and one of the reasons that I enjoy it so much, is nurturing the garden to progress and mature over the years. 

I am also aware however, that looking after a garden takes up time in our already hectic lives, and it can be very easy to feel that the garden is becoming out of control. Gardening is a great tonic for relaxing and switching off from your day, so the last thing you want is to become overwhelmed by the very thing that is meant to reduce stress. 

Many clients ask me to design a low maintenance garden, and while of course, any space will still need looking after, there are certain wise choices you can make to cut down on the time needed to keep the garden looking good, and these could be incorporated into your planning for the year ahead.

Reduce the Time Needed for Deadheading

Deadheading can be a timely process, so an easy step to take is to reduce the number plants which need regularly deadhead such as repeat flowering roses, dahlias, and cosmos. 

Instead, choose plants which have a seed head which is just as attractive as the flower, for example achillea, Phlomis russeliana, or alliums. That way the plant continues to look good right through the growing season, through to autumn and winter, without any work required from you. 

Cut Down Plants in Pots

Pots require regular watering and are therefore, more maintenance than plants in flower beds. Cut down on the number of pots, and carefully choose what you plant in them to save time watering. 

Drought tolerant options will reduce the amount of upkeep required, such as ornamental grasses, Eryngium, and Erigeron karvinskianus. Consider what the pot is made from, a terracotta pot, for example, will dry out much more quickly, and will require more watering than other materials. 

Cut Down Lawn Care

The lawn is one of the highest maintenance areas of a garden – mowing the grass, trimming the edges, weeding, scarifying, feeding – the list goes on, depending the level of perfection for which you strive. 

There are various steps you can take, such as using a robotic lawn mower and installing hard edging, but other options are also available to cut down on maintenance. Replacing the grass with sedum or creeping thyme would require no cutting. Alternatively you could reduce the size of your lawn and replace it with more flower beds, filled with with low maintenance planting like ornamental grasses and shrubs. 

Cover the Ground

Weeding is one of the least popular activities in the garden and it takes up a lot of time. The less bare soil you have in the flower beds, the less weeding you will do, so ground cover plants are your new best friends! My favourite choices are Ajuga replans, saxifraga and, Stachys byzantina. They will happily spread amongst the borders to help suppress the weeds.  

Rewild the Garden

Rewilding a part of your garden is great for biodiversity and your local ecosystem, and will also cut down on your gardening hours. It could be as simple as letting the lawn grow long and just mowing a path through, or letting the weeds grow in an area of your garden – nettles are a great for caterpillars and butterflies, and dandelions are a vital source of early pollen and nectar for bees. 

In autumn, leave a pile of fallen leaves on the ground to create a perfect spot for hedgehogs to hibernate over winter. 

Hopefully, you can use one or more of these ideas in your own garden to reduce the amount of time spent on maintenance, and instead spend the time relaxing in your outdoor haven. 

Katie runs Katie Reynolds Design which offers garden and interior design services across Aberdeenshire and the North East of Scotland. She is qualified in both sectors, having trained at KLC School of Design in London and the National Design Academy. Follow Katie for more inspiration on Instagram and Facebook.