When you’re sitting in the backyard, what makes you give a contented sigh? Is it your favorite rose bush or the sight of your children playing with the dog? Your garden can be a place that you go to relax, or it can be a place that requires long and tedious maintenance. Don’t make your garden another chore on your to do list: turn it into a place that will give you many years of enjoyment to come.

1. Reduce Landscaping Maintenance 

To make your landscaping a joy rather than a chore, add elements to your landscape that make it easier to maintain, and reduce high-maintenance garden choices.

• Choose your plants wisely if you’re not a gardener. Instead of going for the profusion of flowers in the country garden, choose a few plants that create lovely foliage and flowers and act as a centerpiece for your garden.
• Don’t worry about watering the grass. Instead, replace it with gravel or low-maintenance plants such as thyme.
• Create a landscape that drains easily by reshaping your garden, so you don’t need to worry about muddy places in the garden.
• Choose your trees and shrubs based on their leaves and flowers, but go for low maintenance evergreen shrubs if you don’t enjoy the fall cleanup. 
• Add protective systems to your home and garden such as a gutter protection system, so that you don’t need to worry about cleaning fall leaves from your gutters.

According to Broadview Homes, “using ground covers, low-maintenance lawns, and native plant species can play a large role in decreasing the amount of time you will need to spend on maintenance.” That will be a relief for everyone. 

2. Create Indoor-Outdoor Living Spaces 

An outstanding indoor-outdoor living space will make your garden most pleasant. In the spring and fall, an outdoor living space that’s protected by awnings can keep the rain off and allow you to sit outdoors, even if the day is a little damp. In the summer, an outdoor cooking area can make it easier to entertain without roasting in the kitchen. Plan this space for watching children play or plan to entertain guests on your patio. Add comfortable seating to this space, and add lighting too, so that you can enjoy reading a book outdoors on a summer evening.

3. Block Out the Noise and Ugly Views 

Landscaping is about creating beauty, but it can also be about permanently disguising what you don’t want to see or hear. According to Landscape Ontario, landscaping can “lower noise levels and block unpleasant views.” A tall hedge can provide protection from a road, and a well-planned pathway can lead you from your home to the car through a path of flowers or foliage, giving you a relaxing respite from the rest of your day.

4. Plan for Play 

How do you play in your garden? Do you love to cut flowers? Do you enjoy throwing a ball to your dog? Do the kids like to splash in the wading pool? Whatever you enjoy doing in your garden, design your landscape so that all of these materials are right at hand. Hang up the wading pool in an easy-to-reach area near the garden shed, or add a toolbox on your patio so that you can cut flowers any time. Make your favorite activities more accessible through landscape design.

5.  Add Shade to Your Garden

One of the best future investments you can make in your garden is to add a tree, shrubs, a trellis, or a patio awning. You’ll be thankful for these in the heat of the summer, where you’ll find a place that’s a few degrees cooler. If you really want to keep things cool, add a water source such as a small pond or fountain as well.

Are you trying to create a garden landscape that will last for many years of enjoyment? Create a garden for the generations with Harry Helmet. With our long-lasting guarantee, you’ll know that your home gutter cover will protect you for years to come. Contact us today to schedule a free estimate.

Written by Del Thebaud