Low Maintenance Landscaping – What It Is and Why You Want It
- Posted by livewell in Landscaping Tips
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How will you spend your summer? Vacationing somewhere fabulous? Lounging by the pool? Toiling away in your yard mowing, weeding, and trimming in a seemingly never-ending cycle? For too many homeowners, that last one hits close to home.
You work hard. You don’t necessarily want to spend your free time mowing the yard, trimming, weeding, etc. And while you could hire a lawn service to do that, why not opt for low-maintenance landscaping and save yourself time and money?
While installing low-maintenance landscaping may have a greater upfront cost, the lifetime cost will be lower over the months and years, and the time saved working in the yard will be priceless. Keep reading for some of the top low-maintenance landscaping ideas you can use to transform your front, back, and side yards.
1. Reduce the Amount of Turfgrass
Somehow, having a large expanse of turfgrass became a status symbol, and Americans spend countless hours every year mowing the lawn. You can reclaim that time and spend less on gasoline by reducing the amount of turfgrass in your yard.
Instead of continually reseeding an area where the grass just doesn’t want to grow, turn the area into a rock garden or garden bed. Use hardscape elements such as patios, pathways, stepping stones, groundcovers, gravel, and boulders, to replace turfgrass. Less lawn = less work.
It will give your yard more visual interest, and if you plan it right, you won’t even have to weed!
2. Choose Perennials
Plant perennials in your garden beds or pollinator garden. Perennials self-seed and come back year after year. They multiply and choke out weeds, reducing the need for truckloads of mulch each spring. Plan for spring-blooming, summer-blooming, and fall-blooming flowers and ground covers for color through the seasons. You can transplant perennials to other areas of your yard as well, creating new gardens.
3. Go Native
For the healthiest landscape and one that’s attractive to pollinators and wildlife, choose native trees, shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, and flowers. These species will do well in Maryland with minimal work. And be sure to plant drought-tolerant species. This will reduce the need for watering by hand or with sprinklers. Choose plants that like damp areas or shaded areas as well.
Take care to avoid invasive species, and consider removing them if they are on your property and replacing them with a native species or hardscaping element. The University of Maryland Extension has a wealth of information on recommended native plants.
4. Choose Wisely
Too many people choose the wrong plant, shrub, or tree, for the wrong area. The plants end up dying or growing into the house. This is one of the reasons it’s a good idea to work with a professional landscape design company. They have the training and experience to help you transform your yard into a healthy, beautiful, and low-maintenance landscape.
Related Reading: Biggest DIY Landscape Design Risks
Dream It. Build It. Live It.
If your landscaping needs an overhaul or you’re starting with a blank slate at a new home, we can help. We create beautiful landscape designs that include low-maintenance landscaping options, native plants, specimen trees, and more. We also incorporate hardscape elements into your overall design. In addition, we design and build a variety of outdoor living projects, including inground pools, patios, decks, outdoor kitchens, and more.
Check out our Portfolio for examples of our work, and to gain inspiration, and then contact us for a design consultation. We work with homeowners throughout the Capital Region, including Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.
