Gardening is an incredibly enjoyable hobby for many, but not everyone has the time, the energy or the inclination to devote hours to preening, pruning, strimming, watering, and mowing. If you want to make the most of your outdoor space without spending hours keeping your garden in check, here are some incredible ideas for low-maintenance alfresco areas.

Stones, rocks, and paving

If you asked a room full of people to draw a garden, most would create an image that included a patch of lawn surrounded by trees and beds full of flowers. It’s very common to have a lawn, but you don’t have to have a garden blanketed in green grass if you don’t want to. Increasingly, people are choosing to replace a traditional lawn with low-maintenance alternatives, which are easier to care for. Examples include artificial grass and rock gardens, which are designed using paving, flags, and different types of rockery stone, gravel and pebbles. There’s a huge range of stones available, and you can add height and colour, and embrace different styles and looks very easily by mixing and matching rocks. Whether you’ve got a cottage garden packed with wildflowers or a simple yard, you can use stones and rocks to bring the area to life. Consider the impact of creating a rockery within a wild meadow or converting a basic yard into a modern, cool rock garden, for example. After laying down a foundation of gravel and Scottish pebbles, you can add larger rocks, perennial plants, and accessories such as lanterns, planters, and water features.

Planting

There’s no doubt that plants inject vibrancy and life into outdoor areas. The trouble is that it can be difficult to keep on top of a garden packed with all kinds of different shrubs, flowering plants, and perennials. The good news is that there are lots of plants that don’t require a huge amount of TLC. If you want to enjoy the benefits of a garden in bloom without the hassle, opt for shrubs like heather, azalea, and lavender, and plant spring bulbs, including crocus, snowdrops, and iris. Ivy and climbing hydrangea work brilliantly for traditional, rustic gardens, while sunflowers are ideal for adding bright splashes of colour. When you buy bulbs or seeds, read the planting instructions and make sure you keep the soil moist.

Manageable lawns

If you can’t bear the thought of parting with your lawn, but you’re keen to cut back on the upkeep, there are ways of making your garden more manageable. Firstly, you could consider changing the shape or size of the lawn. If you have a vast lawn or the shape is difficult to navigate with the mower, making adjustments could make all the difference. A smaller, square or rectangular lawn will be much easier to keep trim. If you don’t have time to water your grass on a daily basis, you could also look into installing a watering system.

Do you long for a garden you can enjoy without spending hours mowing the grass, cutting back plants or watering? Many people don’t have time to tend to their gardens, but this shouldn’t mean that you can’t make the most of your outdoor space. Hopefully, this guide has given you some inspiration to reap the rewards of hassle-free horticulture.