Gardening with Low-Maintenance Plants
If you don't want to fuss or be bothered with your plants, here are the ideal ones to cultivate!
Sometimes all you want is a plant that doesn't require much work and care. You want to spend your weekends enjoying your garden, not pruning and fussing with it! If you choose the appropriate ones, the good news is that there are many easy-to-care-for plants, such as annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Adding some of these low-maintenance plants and flowers to your patio or deck's beds, borders, or containers can bring you a lot of delight with little effort, attract pollinators, and transform your garden into a relaxing retreat after a busy week.
However, you must complete the tiniest amount of homework. First, read the plant tag or description to determine whether it needs full sun (six hours or more), part sun (approximately half that), or shade to thrive. Your plant will never succeed unless you provide it with the proper lighting. And it's a waste of both time and money!
You'll also want to make sure that any perennials or shrubs you're planting are appropriate for your USDA Hardiness Zone (find yours here) and will survive the winters in your location. Don't forget to measure the mature size of a plant. If a shrub grows to be 10 feet tall and is placed right up against your house, it isn't low-maintenance. Giving your plants the space they require will make your lives much more manageable! Finally, "low-maintenance" does not imply "no maintenance." All plants need to be watered during the establishment phase and dry spells.
Here are a few low-maintenance plants to consider for your garden:
Marigold
Because they're absurdly easy to grow, these hardy annuals have been popular for a long time. They come in various colors, from canary yellow to vivid orange to creamy white, and can be used to complement other flowers or provide a splash of color to beds and containers. They bloom from when they are planted until a hard freeze, and bunnies tend to ignore them.
Rose Shrub
New forms of shrub roses, believe it or not, aren't demanding! They can withstand both heat and cold and bloom from spring through fall. They need a quick trim in the spring, around a third of their original size, to keep them looking excellent for years.
Sedum
Sedum is found in a variety of forms, including erect and creeping variants. These succulents are a terrific way to add texture and color to any garden, and once established, they're drought tolerant. They're great for borders or rock gardens.
Cranesbill
Gardeners sometimes neglect this lovely, lesser-known perennial, hardy, or perpetual geranium, but it shouldn't because it requires nearly no care. It features delicate flowers that hover over the foliage from late spring to summer, depending on the type, and spreads swiftly in a charming mounding pattern.
Bush with Butterflies
Look for miniature forms of this dependable blooming to add to mixed borders. It attracts pollinators, and newer species do not grow to be as large or invasive as older varieties. Flowers with pink, purple, or white spikes bloom all summer till frost.
Violas and Pansies
These adorable miniature flowers come in a rainbow of colors! They enjoy cool temperatures, so they're ideal for bringing color to gardens in the early spring or late fall. In most parts of the country, they're classified as annuals, but several types produce seeds, allowing them to reappear the following spring. They may survive for most of the winter in warm regions.
Daffodil
These bright spring-flowering bulbs are an essential addition to any landscape. Plant them for blossoms the following spring in the fall, just when you've had enough of the dreary winter days. What's better? Rodents and deer who dig them up tend to leave them alone, and they can bloom for years.
Hyacinth
Another spring-flowering bulb that your neighborhood creatures seem to ignore is this one. They come in various beautiful colors, from pastel blue to hot pink, and have a lovely scent that tells you that spring has finally arrived. They'll come back year after year as well. Hyacinths are one of Ree Drummond's favorite flowers.
Hydrangea Panicle
If you want a low-maintenance flowering shrub, choose panicle hydrangeas, often known as PeeGee kinds, which are the easiest to cultivate. They bloom from mid-summer to fall and give the impression that you put a lot of effort into them when you didn't! Because panicle hydrangeas bloom on fresh wood, you can shape them in the spring by pruning a bit (though it's not essential!) without the danger of cutting off flower buds, which can happen with other species like mountain hydrangeas.
Alyssum is a lovely flower.
Tumbling out of planters, window boxes, and over stone walls, this lovely annual looks fantastic. It has a sweet honey aroma that bees adore, and it thrives in cool temperatures, blooming from spring planting until heavy frost.
Vine of Sweet Potatoes
This annual comes in various colors, from lime green to deep burgundy, and is variegated with pinks and pastel greens. Plant it where you can appreciate its draping form, but give it its container because it tends to take over.
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