Want to have the yard on the block that makes your neighbours 'green' with envy, but can't find the time to do so?
Here are some helpful tips to have a beautiful landscape with minimal effort.
Plan first before you begin planting the landscape. You want to do it right the first time.
Walk through the yard and takes notes. Things to look for are sun and shade spots. Soil types: is the soil well drained, rich in nutrients, pH level? Amend the soil before you begin planting.
Put in an automated watering system that is on a timer.
Have a smaller lawn. Lawns can take up a lot of time as they need to be mowed weekly. Instead of a lawn, plant trees/shrubs and cover with landscape fabric and mulch. Or, put in a patio or a dry riverbed (hardscape).
Use landscape fabric. Landscape fabric helps keep the weeds down, and holds in moisture. When preparing the planting site, place landscape fabric down before you begin planting. Cut holes in the landscape fabric where the plants will go. After the plants have been planted, apply a layer of mulch such as bark or rock on top of the landscape fabric to finish the look.
Use lawn edging. Putting down a high quality lawn edging will save having to yearly edge the planting beds, stop the lawn grass from creeping into the planting bed, and keep mulch, stones etc., where they belong.
Choose plant material that does not require a lot of maintenance. Look for drought-tolerant and disease- and pest-resistant plants. Choose plants that are hardy for our zone 3 climate. Native plants and ornamental grasses are easy to grow with minimal care.
Mass plantings of the same plant are easier to look after, as they all have the same growing requirements.
Trees and shrubs require the least amount of work. They may only need a yearly pruning or shearing. Slower growing, trees and shrubs will need even less pruning. If you don't want to rake leaves in the fall, plant evergreens.
Plant perennials instead of annuals. Perennials come back every year and many of the perennials only need to be cleaned up in the spring and trimmed back in the fall. Look for perennials that do not need to be divided very often and those that do not reseed or are invasive.
For a burst of colour, place large containers filled with annuals in visible areas such as patios and door entrances. Large containers will require less time as they will not need to be watered as often. Annuals such as supertunias and wave petunias are self-cleaning and so do not need to have the finished flowers removed.
Use a slow-release fertilizer that will continually feed plants for several weeks.
Keep up on the maintenance. Do not put off chores such as weeding, as this will only cause three times more work the following week. Check plants regularly for pests and disease so that the problem can be caught and treated early. Prune trees and shrubs annually when needed. This will keep plants attractive and healthy.
