Posted 4th July, 2023

A great-looking garden doesn’t have to be hard work. Follow these simple guidelines for a no-fuss outdoor space that will bring you joy every time you step into it.

Ditch the lawn.

It might seem surprising advice, but if your garden is small and you don’t have children, ditch the lawn. Big borders and a reasonably-sized paved, gravelled, or decked area will actually be less work than keeping a small area of grass looking good, and you won’t have to allocate precious shed space to a lawnmower. If you choose paving, permeable options are available.

Right plants, right pitch

Pick plants that are well-suited to your soil and site conditions. For example, if you have a sunny garden with dry soil, lavenders will thrive. Try an online plant selector as a guide your plant hunting.

Go large with pots.

As a general rule of thumb, big pots are easier to look after than small ones. The smaller the pot, the quicker it dries out and the more watering it will need. Group plants in large pots or use raised planters instead if you have little or no garden soil – such as in many urban gardens.

Keep it simple.

Keep planting simple – hardy shrubs and evergreen plants are key. Shrubs are great because they’re long-lived and won’t need replacing every year. Evergreens such as sedges and hellebores look good all year and drop fewer leaves than deciduous plants. Those labelled as ‘groundcover’ plants are a good choice as they tend to be tough and will knit together to help keep weeds down.

Choose long lasting combinations.

Choose plants with complementing textures and colours for year-round effect - round glossy leaves next to finely textured grasses, for example - that way you won’t be needing to put in seasonal bedding plants to add colour. The foliage in the Winter Garden at RHS Garden Rosemoor looks great all year round, even in the depths of winter.

Make your lawn easier to cut.

If you do have a lawn, install a permanent edge to it, such as a run of bricks or paving stones. This means you won’t have to spend time trimming the edges every time you cut the grass. Smooth out any difficult angles and awkward corners (either by extending the grass or enlarging your borders) to make a shape that’s easier to cut.

Extend your garden upwards with self-clinging climbers.

Climbers are the perfect way to extend your growing space by making the most of walls, fences or even trees. Self-clinging climbers such as ivy, Virginia creeper and climbing hydrangea attach themselves onto surfaces (rather than needing wires or trellis to grow up). Paint or stain the surface before planting for a low-maintenance, high impact look.

Use mulch for less watering and weeding.

'Mulching’ simply means using another material, such as bark chippings or gravel, to cover up any bare soil between your plants. This is a really useful technique which saves on work because it helps prevent weeds growing and stops water evaporating – meaning you’ll need to do less watering and weeding. And it smartens up the garden too!

Embrace a bit of wildness!

Learning to love wildness and imperfection can help you enjoy your low-maintenance garden, and this can be helped by designing your space accordingly. Cracks between the uneven paving stones can be colonised by low-growing plants, and a seating area could be surrounded by exuberant planting. A weed or two or a fallen leaf won’t spoil the scene like they would if the garden was made of formal paving and clipped topiary. Embracing the quirks of the natural world can bring great satisfaction.