Five Tips for No-Fuss Home Landscaping

Want a beautifully landscaped yard but don't have the time to maintain it? Sick of spending your free time weeding, mowing and planting? Gardening can be a real source of peace and contentment. It can also be time consuming. I have a pretty busy schedule. I'm looking forward to relaxing in my new yard this summer. That's why I'm planning to use these tips for no-fuss landscaping.

Water efficiently. Just realized you haven't watered in days? No time to put your life on hold? Watering duty shouldn't throw you into a panic. Water routinely, several times a week, at night. Your work day is over. Give yourself this time to relax and enjoy the gentle sound of the "rain". Pull up a lawn chair. Let the sprinkler soothe your worries of the day. Guess what? Watering at night is more efficient too. There's no hot sun to steal moisture from thirsty plants.

Skip the small stuff. I'm learning the hard way not to use tiny things in my landscaping plan. Our new house came with tons of river rock. Removing those obnoxious little stones has been a real chore. Some are buried over six inches deep. Larger stones are heavier. They may strain your muscles. Still, it won't take you weeks to remove them, when your landscaping plans change. Need a plant free path? Use mulch instead of gravel or river rock. It's lightweight and easy to move.

Take your time. Rome wasn't built in a day. The same holds true for a beautifully landscaped yard. Landscaping is expensive too. Best to spread it out so you don't break the bank. We're considering our yard a work in progress. Take the pressure off by working on your no-fuss landscaping one project at a time. Make it look presentable, then refine it over the years until you have the look you want.

Use perennials and native plants. Choosing the right plants is probably the single most important thing you can do to make your landscaping easy to maintain. Why plant annuals over and over? Why spend your time mowing and greening your lawn? Use scattered perennial beds instead. Just trim them back in the fall and watch them spring forward in April or May. Better yet, choose native perennials. These grow naturally in your area and require minimal maintenance.

Use weed block. It can be expensive. Put that thought out of your mind. Imagine a summer of tiresome weeding. I don't know anyone who actually loves spending hours hunched over, pulling stubborn weeds in the hot summer sun. If that sounds like fun to you, nix the weed block. Going without weed block to save money? You don't have to skip it because you can't afford it. Use newspaper or cardboard instead of the store bought stuff. It works just as well. Plus, it can be tilled in at the end of the growing season.

Bonus tip: The hot summer sun can leave you drained and parched. Get a jump on landscaping by taking care of heavy duties before summer hits. We do all our lawn clean up in the early days of spring. Save summer for easy maintenance.

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Source:

Personal Experience