Low-Maintenance Landscaping Ideas for Your Garden

A low-maintenance garden refers to either a collection of hardy plants that require minimal care or a landscaping setup that fosters a hands-off growing environment. Typical garden maintenance, like pruning, mowing, watering, or fertilizing, is not as critical for this garden type.

Low-maintenance gardens typically feature drought-tolerant plants and pest-resistant plants that can survive in various soil types or environmental conditions. These types of plants work well for softscaping your back or front yard. If you want to build an indoor garden on a smaller scale, there are many low-maintenance indoor plants from which you can choose.

Low-maintenance gardens are optimal for home gardeners with busy schedules or those who simply want to spruce up their yard without the commitment. Here are some low-maintenance gardening ideas that can increase the curb appeal of your landscaping without all the hassle:

1. 1. Butterfly gardens: A butterfly garden features fragrant plants that attract helpful pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds, and bumblebees. While these gardens often feature full-sun plants that require regular watering, the pollinators will help spread seeds and pollen to yield an abundant garden full of sweet-smelling flowers. Learn how to plant a butterfly garden.
2. 2. Perennial gardens: Perennials are plants that return and blossom year after year. While annuals only offer one season of blooms, perennial flowers establish themselves for years to come. As a result, you don’t need to replant perennials after the growing season ends. Many herbs and flowers are perennials. The longer lifespan of perennials makes these plants easier on the home gardener. As long as you adhere to your plants’ needs in regard to planting zones, watering, and sunlight exposure, you can have a successful garden of perennial flowers year after year with varying bloom times.
3. 3. Rock gardens: A rock garden, or rockery, features rocks as a central component of its design. Rock garden spaces use a variety of rocks—from large boulders to smaller stones to gravel—in their designs along with plants and even water features. Use rock gardens to add texture and dimension to your existing living garden.
4. 4. Succulent garden: Succulents are plants with thick, fleshy leaves or stems that store water and protect the plants from drought. These easy-care plants add a desert-like feel to your outdoor space while requiring minimal water. Succulents like aloe vera, prickly-pear cactus, and snake plants are popular low-maintenance plants that only need deep waterings once every three to four weeks. They also require minimal pruning.
5. 5. Water gardens: A water garden is built around a water feature, incorporating water-thriving plants that emerge from the water, float on the water surface, or grow entirely submerged. A water garden can be as large as a backyard pond (if you have adequate yard space) or as small as a bowl of water (popular with apartments and renters). You can even make an indoor water garden. Cultivating a water garden means that you can rely on the moist soil around a water feature or pond to help keep moisture and humidity-loving plants quenched.
6. 6. Xeriscaping: Xeriscaping is a low-water gardening method that combines efficient, light irrigation with hardy, low-water plants to create an energy-saving garden. Homeowners in the western region of the United States, particularly in hot and dry states like Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and parts of California, use xeriscaping techniques on their properties to reduce water use, cut back on maintenance costs, and use fewer pesticides and other harmful chemicals. Rocks and succulents are popular staples of xeriscaping, as are wildflowers and ornamental grasses.

Consider growing the following plants If you’re looking for exceptionally hardy and low-maintenance varieties to jump-start your DIY, hands-off garden:

1. 1. Crepe myrtles: A crepe myrtle shrub or tree has a long blooming season from late spring throughout summer and even into early fall in warm regions. The crepe myrtle has become a popular garden landscaping choice for its variety of flower colors, bright green leaves, and textured bark, which peels in irregular patterns, revealing a patchwork of greens, browns, and pinks. It’s also drought-tolerant and can withstand higher temperatures. Use them as accents throughout your garden, or make them the focal point by creating a garden spread around its perimeter.
2. 2. Daisies: Daisies (Bellis perennis) are vibrant flowers with a series of yellow- or white-petaled blooms with long, green stems. Daisies require far less maintenance than other types of flowers, making them a great addition to a low-maintenance garden. The common daisy can fill the spaces between your pavers or soften up your garden bed.
3. 3. Ferns: These perennial plants are flowerless and seedless, reproducing by spores released from the undersides of their leafy or feathery fronds. Ferns are easy-to-grow perennial plants requiring minimal upkeep. They are rarely affected by diseases or pests and add lush greenery to your outdoor living space.
4. 4. Hibiscus: Hibiscus flowers are perennial plants that come in various sizes, shapes, and colors. Hibiscus does not need much attention aside from regular watering. Set up an automatic watering system like drip irrigation or sprinklers to handle that task.
5. 5. Hostas: Hostas are easy growers that prefer shade and sprout aromatic flowers of purple, lilac, lavender, and pink. Use hostas to fill in the spaces between your taller, more dense shrubbery.
   
6. 6. Marigolds: These vibrant annuals bloom for the entire summer, appearing in hues such as red, gold, orange, yellow, and bicolored varieties. Marigolds appeal to insects, which, in turn, attract insectivorous birds, which can help the rest of your garden flourish with minimal upkeep. Use these brightly colored blooms as accents or borders in your flower beds or walkways.
7. 7. Purple fountain grass: This ornamental grass is low-maintenance and easy to care for. Also known as rose fountain grass or crimson fountain grass, this ornamental grass is a drought-tolerant plant known for its maroon to purplish grass blades and feather-like plumes (or seed heads) that range in color from rose and burgundy to red. This warm-season grass has purple foliage and grows year-round in warmer climates, where it blooms well into late summer and fall. Use this grass to accent your lawn and provide soft, color tufts along your fencing.
8. 8. Society garlic: Society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) is an herbaceous, clumping perennial plant native to South Africa. The common name “society garlic” is a nod to its green leaves and flowers that smell of garlic, which makes them deer-resistant. Society garlic doesn’t need much care outside of watering and deadheading, or pinching off dead leaves and blooms.

Grow your own garden with Ron Finley, the self-described "Gangster Gardener." Get the MasterClass Annual Membership and learn how to cultivate fresh herbs and vegetables, keep your house plants alive, and use compost to make your community—and the world—a better place.