A well-manicured lawn is a cure for tired eyes. By looking at the lush vegetation that you have cultivated after a long day at work, you can feel reinvigorated. Gardening has also been found to be a stress-buster; the simple and repetitive tasks required in taking care of plants have been proven to relax the mind and improve mood.
However, not everyone has the time, energy, or motivation to do the work that is involved in landscaping. While a lot of people love plants and are willing to spend an entire weekend tending to vegetation, some might have better things to do.
But, having a green and lively lawn is an advantage. Aside from the physical and mental health benefits, it will also make selling the house easier and faster. It can even increase the value of the property.
So, here is what you can do to maintain a pretty lawn without the extensive work:
Choose Low-Maintenance Plants
If you choose the most resilient and most low-maintenance plants for your garden, you would not have to worry about spending hundreds of dollars and several weekends keeping everything alive.
The famous Kikuyu grass, for example, is a great choice for residential and commercial spaces because it is lush, quick-growing, and, most importantly, hardy. It will grow well in any soil conditions, and it regenerates fast which makes it perfect for areas where there is constant foot traffic.
Moreover, it will survive throughout hot summers in Australia. This type of grass has been proven to be resistant to heat and drought.
Of course, your lawn should not be all grass. You would need more plants to make it less bare. Luckily, there are a number of plants that are known to be friendly to those who do not always have the time to tend to their lawns.
For a dash of colour, these are the plants that will not die on you: cosmos, peonies, coneflowers, hydrangeas, anemone, snowdrops, bluebells, knock-out roses, and spider flowers.
Let Tech Take Care of It
If you do not have the time but have the money and technical know-how, you can automate the task of watering your lawn. If you already have an irrigation system, then all you need to install is a timer. You can set up the timer to run the irrigation system based on what is appropriate for the present weather. The need of your garden for moisture changes with the season, so it is best to know how often your garden will need watering when it is hot out or when it is rainy.
Those who do not have underground sprinklers can still automate watering by attaching a timer to the hose bib.
Go Evergreen with Trees
Autumn looks gorgeous. The trees turn brown and the leaves fall on the ground. However, it is a lot of work for homeowners. If you do not want to spend your everyday raking fallen leaves, then surround yourself with evergreens.
Evergreen trees, as the name suggests, stay green all year. They would not shed their leaves during autumn, saving you from having to do another daily chore. They require less work, and they stay green regardless of the changing season.
Let It Grow
Maybe you do not need to do much at all.
While some people picked up gardening as a hobby during the pandemic, others did not have the energy to keep their lawns perfectly manicured. This, a new trend was born: “lazy lawns.”
The Royal Horticultural Society of the United Kingdom declared that, in 2021, gardeners can make a little less effort toward the maintenance of their garden. Because, in the past year, lawns were reclaimed as a space for relaxation and recreation, many households accepted that the grass will have natural wear and tear. There will be browning during the summer, and wildflowers may even emerge.
Many people in the UK have started mixing small leaf clovers into their grasses to make sure that the ground stays green throughout the year, even without fertilizer or with infrequent watering. Clover is easy to grow, and they tolerate drought quite well unlike traditional grasses that require constant moisture during warmer months.
In Australia, native plants are fuss-free, even if they are not exactly considered trendy. Moreover, native plants are better for the environment and local ecosystem.
Lawn maintenance does not have to be tiring or time-consuming. There are techniques that you can utilize to ensure that you still have a green outdoor space without putting in too much effort.
