Low maintenance gardens

The desire for a low-maintenance garden is often top of our clients' wish-lists when discussing the design brief for their new garden. We can all appreciate the beauty and benefits of a well-kept garden, but we are also increasingly time-poor and would much rather spend time relaxing in the garden than weeding it (though I would proffer that weeding is relaxing!). Even if you don't plan a complete re-design of your garden there are still some pointers to bear in mind when working out how to make the most of your outside space. Here are a few things to consider when re-thinking your garden including some planting design tips to achieve maximum interest with minimum effort.

Lawn

Arguably the single most high maintenance thing you can put in a garden is a lawn. Lawns - if they are to look their best - need a regular care regime to keep weeds and moss at bay, improve drainage and aeration, and generally make sure it stays lush and green. Added to that, during the growing season, it needs frequent mowing, usually on a weekly basis in the summer months. You could consider reducing the size of your lawn, or do away with it altogether in place of paving though this will depend on how large a lawn you have as paving an large garden would not be advisable! But for small gardens, a courtyard-style area of attractive paving will make a huge difference. Or consider the growing number of good quality artificial lawns.

Architectural plants

For the garden to look good year-round means having a mixed approach to your planting scheme. Don't just rely on summer stunners. Herbaceous perennials have their place in the garden but when they die back in winter you can be left with a garden looking rather bare. Better to include some good architectural shrubs along with evergreen perennials that require little in the way of maintenance once they are established. Think of shrubs as the backbone to your garden. Pick shrubs that have more than one feature - for example, spring blossom, autumn leaf colour, winter berries - and you are already tripling the season of interest.

Ground cover

Weeds are advantageous colonisers and invariably take hold in any bare soil you have. Best way to beat them is to make sure there's nowhere for them to get established. That means having plenty of plants that you actually want in the garden. Filling your borders with plants that flower from spring through summer into autumn will mean you have to spend less time on your knees fighting Ma Nature!

Raised beds

A great way to add height and interest in your garden, raised beds also make gardening easier on your back. Raised beds are particularly good in sloping gardens where they can be designed as a series of terraces to create levelled areas that are more accessible and therefore easier to garden. They're also great for growing vegetables and herbs.

Bulbs

Bulbs aren't just for spring! Bulbs are the ultimate inbetweeners. There are bulbs for all seasons and they make fantastic gap fillers, both horticulturally and seasonally when the garden is dormant. Choose bulbs that will take your garden from autumn into winter and spring into summer. Get hold of a bulb catalogue and you'll be amazed just how many there are to choose from. Be bold, plant in drifts: more is definitely more when it comes to bulbs! If you plant them in and among your other plants, they will pop up, do their thing, then die back down before coming back again the next year, and so on. Be creative with your colour palette and let your imagination run wild!