Everyone wants a beautiful garden landscaping that looks like a million dollars. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it is not that difficult to create a garden that looks like an expert has designed it.
Just by following a few simple guidelines, you can create gorgeous gardens with very little work. This is especially true for any type of shrub, tree, or flower that requires minimal maintenance. The following guide will get you started on creating beautiful low maintenance indoor gardens.
You have several options for incorporating native plants into your garden design.
First, if you are at all handy with a hoe and a garden fork, you may be able to grow most types of native plants from seed.
If that is not possible, you can consider purchasing small pieces of native grass or fern and placing them in pots on your windowsill or in a plastic container on the porch or deck. Native plants are great for creating low-maintenance backyards because they tend to not attract insects and are generally disease-free.
Trees, shrubs, and ground cover such as grass and fern all need certain amounts of fertilizer to help keep them healthy and attractive. However, most experts recommend limiting the use of fertilizer to no more than one-third of the normal application rate for plants.
In addition, many tropical-type plants require regular watering, and you should water your landscape plants once each week during the dry season. Your low-maintenance plants will thrive with occasional pruning, but you should avoid pruning them too much because the process makes the plants more susceptible to diseases.
One popular low-maintenance plant is the shrub or tree whose roots penetrated the ground below the desired height. These plants include azaleas, Chinese Juniper, boxwood, hibiscus, Japanese Maple, Lemon Tree, mountain pine, purple coneflower, and the likes.
Because some varieties have large roots that penetrate the earth’s surface, it is best to dig them up and re-pot them after flowering.
For this reason, you should stay away from shrub or tree varieties with hard wood origins (all types except for boxwood) and the roots spread widely apart. This will make it easier for bugs to find your garden, which means they could easily travel a long way from their point of origin.
Some low-maintenance plants are more bushy than others. The best among these is the shrub or tree with big, bushy leaves. Examples of this are bugs, witch-hazel, Japanese gardenia, Mimosa, plumeria, poinsettia, rhododendron, and the like.
There are a few varieties that are not as pretty, such as the shrub or tree with pinkish purple blossoms. These include clematis, which usually blooms during late summer and early fall; and lavender, which flowers in late spring. You should also note that some flowers, such as the clematis, may die back to the ground as the weather becomes cold or dry.
Low-maintenance perennials are also recommended because they are more apt to attract birds and other natural pollinators. One good example is the Blue Spruce. This tree attracts numerous songbirds every year, with its beautiful blue flowers.
Other good candidates are annuals such as the gladiolus, which blooms in May and early June; the saliva, which bloom in October; and the marigold, which flowers in March. In addition, there are many garden flowers, such as the calendula, that are perennial and will provide a constant food supply for bees and other insects.