Love the idea of a beautiful outdoor space, but don't know where to start? We've consulted the experts to come up with the best tips for low maintenance gardening, with high impact results.
Potted Plants
Potted plants are a great way to ease yourself into gardening. Start by getting a mish-mash of pots in different patterns and colours. Choose a variety of plants and make sure to check when they are in peak season - selecting plants that have their seasons spread from mid-spring to mid-autumn will make sure you always have something beautiful to look at during the warmer months.
The biggest hassle with potted plants is remembering to water them, here are some easy ways to make sure that your plants retain water for longer:
- Put the plant pots in saucers so that any excess water will collect underneath and be taken up by the plant's roots.
- For hanging baskets, chop up sponges and place them in the soil. They will absorb water and keep the plant soil moist for longer.
- Use vermiculite - mixing this into soil ensures the soil retains more water.
Bedding Plants
It may feel like a chore, but find some time to finally get round to filling those neglected flower beds! This is more of an investment of time and money, but the rewards will be worth it when you see gorgeous flowers spilling over the beds around your garden.
Geraniums are perfect for flower beds as they will flower the whole summer and are fairly low-maintenance.
Another great and easy-to-care for plant is catmint. You can pick these up in any local garden centre.
Grow your dinner!
Having a plant that provides your dinner - what could be a better return on investment? Rhubarb and Globe Artichokes will produce beautiful fruit and veg each year, but with hardly any effort on your part!
Herbs, either potted or bedded, are also excellent plants to have. They grow like mad and are fairly hardy (good in British weather!). Rosemary produces beautiful flowers and is fabulous added to dishes on a BBQ. Mint is another useful herb - perfect for those summer Pimms!
Crab apple trees look beautiful when they blossom in summer, and produce fruit in autumn.
Bushes and Bulbs
Small evergreen bushes can be trimmed into a neat shape, and will mean your garden looks green all year round. Evergreens like the Hebe plant also flower in summer!
Bulbs are the number one low-maintenance plants. Cheap to buy, and fairly straightforward to plant. These will flower year after year, and don't need any maintenance. Good examples of these are daffodils, snowdrops, and crocuses.
Hopefully this article is leaving you feeling inspired to do more with your outdoor space! Share any images of your new garden with us on social media @lampsy.