How To Reduce Garden Maintenance Without Completely Paving Over Your Plot

Dan shares ideas for finding that compromise between the need to reduce garden maintenance and retaining the benefits of having plants in your plot.

In my career as a garden designer and landscaper I often meet clients whose objective for contacting me is to reduce garden maintenance.

There are a whole host of reasons for wanting to spend less time mowing, weeding, painting fences and oiling decks. Time constraints, mobility issues, allergies, disliking gardening and having holiday cottages that need to be tidy but easily maintained. But whatever the reason for wanting to reduce garden maintenance, paving over the entire plot may not be the best solution.

Here are some other ideas.

• Strike a balance between hard landscaping and planting that best suits your gardening abilities
• Choose plants that you love – that way gardening won’t feel like a chore
• Design your garden with wildlife in mind – meadow planting is far less demanding than a manicured lawn
• Instead of planted borders – opt for a wildlife pond or a decorative pool
• Mulch borders really well to minimise weeding and watering
• Create planting pockets in paved areas will aid drainage and add visual interest
• Aggregates make a great substitute for paving and lawns

Why you may regret paving over your plot

It seems like the obvious solution doesn’t it? You dislike gardening, or it’s just not practical for you, so you bury the whole thing under concrete and paving slabs. That way the only garden maintenance you’ll ever need to do is sweeping away debris and possibly washing off algae.

But have you considered how that could negatively affect the way you use your outdoor spaces?

For starters, it’s going to get hot out there. Stone and porcelain paving are all excellent at absorbing heat and then releasing it slowly. That’s in direct contrast to plants and soil, both of which are mind-blowingly good at cooling the atmosphere. A paved garden in summer can become unbearably hot and feel quite airless and uncomfortable.

Then there’s the boredom factor. Paving doesn’t attract wildlife, it doesn’t change with the seasons, cast a reflection, move in the breeze, or make sounds. Yes, it can be highly attractive. Skilled garden designers and landscapers can mix and match materials with spectacular effect. But theres a good chance that the wow factor will wane when you’re looking at the same thing day in day out for days, months and even years.

As for the environment – paving is virtually sterile. Having an eco-friendly garden may not feel like a high priority for you, but there can be no doubt that a bit of greenery does an awful lot for our wellbeing.

The Compromise Between Low Maintenance And High Interest

If you are looking to reduce garden maintenance, you can be sure that there is a sweet spot between having a manageable outdoor space and one that holds lots of interest for you.

Finding that sweet spot is what garden designers are particularly good at.

Start by considering the gardening jobs that you really don’t want to do. Lawn mowing, sweeping autumn leaves and weeding are often top of the list in this category.

Then think about the things you do like to associate with a garden. For example, getting admiring comments from visitors, breathing in gorgeous scents, enjoying colourful flowers, touching soft leaves or dipping your hand in a cool pool of water.

A garden designer will be able to imagine a space that eliminates (or drastically reduces) the jobs you hate and maximises the joy you feel when in your garden.

Once your beautifully designed garden has been professionally built, all of these things are perfectly achievable without you having to spend a lot of time gardening.

Choosing Plants and Materials For Easy Garden Maintenance

You have probably already worked out that paving is relatively low maintenance compared to say, lawns or flower beds. But that’s not to say there aren’t alternatives out there that can bring you joy without work.

Aggregates and gravels for example can be used alongside pavers to create a modern, contemporary look.

Pavers, setts, decking and low maintenance plants have been carefully combined for visual interest and a relaxing ambience

Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary and thyme are self sufficient plants that need very little care. Both provide forage for pollinating insects and both can enrich your cooking too. You may think that roses are hard work because they need daily deadheading. But choose your variety wisely and you’ll be able to leave spent flowers in situ to form wonderfully coloured rose-hips for autumn interest.

Your garden designer and/or landscaper will be able to help you choose a combination of materials and plants to bring the wow factor to your garden for all 12 months of the year. All you need to do is be realistic and honest about your needs.

Water In The Garden

I’m not going to pretend that ponds and water features are maintenance free. However, carefully designed and installed, they are easy to care for and bring a lot of pleasure. Filters will need to be cleaned out occasionally but it’s not usually an onerous task. Just be sure to position them within easy reach. The size and style of your pool is completely up to you – from a formal pool with a ‘bridge’ of stepping stones to an organically shaped wildlife pool, the choice is endless.

Examples of Lower Maintenance Gardens That Aren’t Completely Paved Over

This is my favourite part of the blog – sharing pictures of projects where we’ve successfully managed to reduced garden maintenance without paving over the plot.

Paving covers a good proportion of  this garden but it is balanced by well-mulched and low-maintenance planting beds

A manageably sized planting bed and a small lawn create a comfortable corner in this urban garden. To reduce garden maintenance even more, the lawn grass could be replaced with a mix of low growing wild flowers

 

Once their lower maintenance garden was completed, our clients felt less overwhelmed about managing their outdoor spaces. They surprised themselves by discovering a new love for gardening and now enjoy pottering outside on nice days

For garden owners who find bending and reaching challenging, carefully designed raised beds can be a game-changer

Aggregates are a great choice for front gardens, particularly since planning laws prohibit the installation of large areas of impermeable paving. In this garden the central raised beds adds visual interest but could be substituted for low maintenance water feature or a beautiful piece of outdoor art.

 

I hope that you’ve found inspiration in this blog to help you create a low maintenance garden without paving over your whole plot. If you need any help with garden design, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, Dan at SilverBirch Gardens.