If only gardening were simple. Wait, why can’t it be simple? There’s no agreement that gardening needs to involve hours on your hands and knees weeding or many hundreds of dollars investing in plants every year. Would you prefer to sit back and watch your garden grow? You can if you simplify your landscaping.

1. Hardscape Your Garden

As you plan for a simpler garden landscape, invest in hardscaping elements that will add to your garden but require little ongoing upkeep. These elements add structure and beauty to your garden. They can include:

• Terraces with rock walls
• Raised garden beds
• Pathways
• Patios and decks
• A pond
• Retaining walls
• Wood and stone steps
• Trellises
• Fences

Gardening Know How points out that “accessories and backdrops” are just as important as other hardscaping elements to your overall garden design. Think about how you want people to view your garden, and plan your hardscaping around this.

2. Plan for Seasonal Color

If your garden looks beautiful in the spring but starts to fade in the summer, better planning could help it look lovely all year round, without needing to invest in a lot of annuals during each season. Consider how the blossoms and foliage of each plant will change and create new focal points in your garden.

For fancy foliage, look at:

• Red and yellow barberry
• Plants with contrasting stems, such as red-twig hydrangea and dogwood
• Sedum
• Burning bush

Some plants have striking foliage through the spring and summer, others have beautiful fall leaves, and still others keep their leaves all year round. When you’re looking for late fall or winter color, consider how leaves can add a dimension to your garden.

Flowers are also a seasonal delight in the garden, and they bloom at all times of the year. In the early spring, look at plans such as mahonia, winter windflower, hellebores, and spring bulbs such as snowdrops. In the later fall, add ligularia, inula, and phlomis, which also produce “pretty dried seedheads in winter,” according to HGTV. Plan for year-round color without any extra work in the garden.

3. Choose Quality Over Quantity 

Are you looking for a low-maintenance garden? Think about quality over quantity. There are plenty of garden designs that will have you spending hours upon hours doing garden maintenance. However, you can choose to avoid this by choosing quality over quantity:

• A focal point such as a water feature
• A few strategically-placed garden beds with flowers and foliage chosen for their striking seasonal looks
• A trellis with plants coming up it to catch the eye
• Pathways that lead to lovely seasonal flowers
• A patio or porch with many planters

4. Reduce Your Maintenance 

Some parts of your garden are naturally more high-maintenance than others. The grass needs to be mowed, and you need to clean your gutters so they don’t overflow. Establish structures and systems to reduce this maintenance. For example, you could reduce your grass to a minimum and add a patio instead. You could add gutter covers to your gutters so that you never need to clean your gutters again. As you complete each disliked garden chore, think about ways that you could structure your gardening to avoid this chore entirely.

At Lednor Home Solutions, we are here to help you enjoy your home and garden. With decades of experience in the home renovation industry, we can help you with your roofing, gutter covers, awnings, and gutter heat. You can count on us to simplify your home maintenance. Schedule a free estimate today.

Written by Del Thebaud