Juggling busy work schedules and social lives with household maintenance can make it hard to find time for your garden. Regardless, busy gardeners want to pursue their hobby when they have the time. Does this sound like you? So you would like your own peaceful outdoor space full of color and greenery. But don’t have the time to maintain it.
We share with you three important secrets for busy gardeners. You can make yourself a low-maintenance garden that still looks good.
1 – Embrace mulch to save time weeding and watering
Mulches are loose ground coverings that are usually made of bark or other organic matter, that go on top of the soil in your flower beds and provide all kinds of benefits to the time-poor gardener.
Depending on the mulch you use, covering the ground around your plants with it will help them to retain moisture in the summer. This means you can get away with less watering, suppress weeds, deter pests, and improve the soil quality.
Biodegradable mulches such as wood chippings and straws are the best for slowly releasing nutrients. But you must replace these once they disintegrate. If you would rather have a mulch that won’t need to be replaced, you can still suppress weeds and conserve moisture with a non-biodegradable mulch, like slate, gravel, or seashells. Landscaping companies use all these options to great success.
To get the best results, use a biodegradable mulch that is around three inches thick after you have removed weeds and their roots. Make sure that the soil is moist before you lay the mulch. If you need to add fertilizer to your plants, you can just spread it over the mulch. It will then wash down to the roots of the plants by watering or when it rains.
2 – Opt for perennials and slow-growers
Classic perennials, such as lavender and allium, are beloved by landscapers for a reason. These plants continue to bring color to your garden for multiple years without needing to be replanted all the time. Are you concerned about plants becoming overgrown, and shedding leaves and petals that you will need to clean up? Perhaps you might try to look for slow-growing perennials such as peonies. Buying a potted plant rather than attempting to grow from bulb or seed is also a sensible choice if you don’t have much time to spend in the garden.
Of course, even with plants that claim to be low maintenance, sometimes they’re not as long-living as you hoped. If you need something that is really hands-off, so that you can do the bare minimum in your garden, some good quality artificial shrubs or flowers might be the right choice.
3 – Try planting carefree wildflowers (for busy gardeners who have almost no time)
An increasingly popular combination is to mix areas of living wildflowers with a few good-quality artificial plants. Some busy gardeners know they’ll only enjoy outdoor time on weekends. Thus, wildflowers are an easy route to go. In fact, these carefree blooms will give you a pop of vibrant color without the need for regular pruning and fertilizing. Some species will even overtake the weeds, reducing the need to spend time on weed-removal efforts.
Low-water wildflowers could work well for vacation rental properties, too. That’s because you can offer a smart garden for minimal maintenance.
On her downtime, Shashika enjoys container gardening on her rooftop and shares her bounty with friends and neighbors.
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