The trouble with low maintenance landscaping is that it often involves plenty of upfront work. The truth is that there’s no such thing as no-maintenance landscaping. You can, however, minimize future maintenance with a little planning and a few creative landscape ideas.
Planning for Low-Maintenance Landscape Design Ideas
Even for small backyard landscaping, planning takes time. Ideally, you should take a full year to plan properly. Look outside to see where water drains and collects and notice which parts of the yard are getting the most or the least amount of water. Spend a day noticing which parts of your lawn get sun during certain parts of the day. Take some soil samples and have tests run to determine which nutrients are lacking. Your best bet is to choose plants native to your region, as they’ll prevent or decrease weed growth, require less water, and repel indigenous pests. Also avoid plants or trees that are known to attract pests. Ash trees, for example, can easily contract ash tree disease from the Emerald Ash Borer, a dark metallic green beetle that has already destroyed tens of millions of ash trees. These beetles have been traced to Asia and transport of firewood and ash nursery stock and are currently a massive threat to American forests. Females lay 60-90 eggs in their lifetimes which hatch after about a week. Avoid ash trees in your landscaping to save on future maintenance.
Landscape Design Ideas That Limit Mowing
Your lawn requires more maintenance than any other feature of your landscape. To really cut down on time spent caring for your grass, get rid of as much of it as possible. Shady areas where grass doesn’t grow well can be replaced by moss or plant beds. Landscape boulders take up space and demand no maintenance. Take it a step further by installing a patio, deck or shed. The less grass you have, the less maintenance you’ll need to perform.
Low maintenance landscape design ideas might involve a little more planning, but they’re well worth the effort. Simply taking some time to understand your lawn’s delicate ecosystem and to allow it to care for itself can make the difference between a Saturday spent weeding and mowing and a Saturday spent on more pleasurable activities. Continue reading here: www.kinnucan.com