Low-maintenance front yard landscaping that looks great is the dream of every lazy gardener. Who wouldn’t want a landscape with amazing curb appeal and almost no upkeep? This sounds like a tall order, but it is possible.
We've compiled our 10 favorite no-maintenance or low-maintenance landscape tips to help your space look its best and give you lots of time to rest. Sit back and relax, it’s time to stop toiling in your garden and start actually enjoying it.
Here are our top 10 easy landscaping ideas that will leave you plenty of time to relish the fruits of your labor:
1. Pick hard-to-kill perennials
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The first step to a low-maintenance (and low-cost) landscape: stop buying and planting annuals every year. Easy-care perennials like asters, echinacea, and sedum provide years of beautiful blooms with minimal effort. Add these low-maintenance landscaping plants to your front yard for an instant boost of curb appeal that will last for years to come.
2. Save water with drought-tolerant plants
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Drought-tolerant plants are a lazy gardener’s best friend. In addition to saving water, they also save you time and energy. Instead of hauling around a hose or watering can everyday, you can actually enjoy your garden. Plus, many flowers with low water needs like bee balm, yarrow, lavender, and anise hyssop double as pollinator plants. The only busy ones in your garden will be the bees!
3. Blooming shrubs make a big statement
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Planting low-maintenance flowering bushes like a lilac or Japanese kerria is a quick and easy way to transform your landscape. Look for shrubs that have long bloom times or multi-season interest for the biggest impact. The purple smoke bush, also known as the smoke tree, is an easy to grow choice with unique puffball blooms in late spring and fiery-colored foliage in fall.
4. Evergreens look good year-round
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An evergreen garden is an elegant low-maintenance landscaping idea that will leave your neighbors green with envy. Though many gardeners train evergreens like yews and boxwoods into formal hedges, you can let these lovely emerald shrubs grow in their natural form for a less structured look in your landscape. And since they never lose their leaves, evergreens look great all year.
5. Perk up your porch with easy-care plants
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If you’re short on space, low-maintenance patio plants are a compact alternative to traditional landscaping. Succulents are the lowest maintenance container plants you can find. They rarely need water and their unique forms add architectural interest to porch pots. Looking for flowers instead? Try classic geraniums or heat-loving lantana for beautiful, long-lasting blooms. Or if you want to introduce some edible plants into your landscape, grow an entire herb garden in one pot.
6. Grow a no-mow lawn
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A lush, green lawn that you never need to mow…could such a thing really exist? A no-mow lawn is the answer every lazy gardener is searching for and it’s easy to grow one in your own yard. No-mow fescues do take some time to become established, but once they are they require minimal upkeep. That’s good not only for gardeners but the earth, too. Less chemicals and mowing means a smaller environmental impact and a more sustainable lawn. Fescue to the rescue!
7. Replace grass with a sustainable garden
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Go green and get rid of grass completely with the simple and sustainable no-till method. This is truly the laziest way to remove grass for a garden. All you do is cut the grass, put down newspapers or cardboard, add water, layer compost and mulch, and plant. You’ll never have to cut the grass again and you get a gorgeous garden without lifting a shovel. It doesn’t get easier than that!
8. Plant hydrangeas for effortless beauty
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These shrubs are a classic garden staple and easy to grow hydrangea varieties provide huge summer blooms with almost no effort. Choose an oakleaf, panicle, or smooth hydrangea for the lowest maintenance needs. Oakleaf hydrangeas and smooth hydrangeas are native to certain areas of the United States, so it’s no wonder they are happy in so many U.S. gardens.
9. Transform a tricky slope
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Mowing grass on a slope is not only difficult, but it’s also dangerous. Transform a tricky slope into a low-maintenance hillside covered in plants that don’t need tending. Native ornamental grasses are an elegant alternative to turf. They look and sound lovely swaying in the breeze. A native wildflower meadow is another simple solution that has the added benefit of erosion control. If you’re willing to spend a little more money and energy, you can also plant a mixture of native trees and shrubs and convert your hillside into a woodland area.
10. Go from grass to gravel
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Low-maintenance front yard landscaping doesn’t get lower-maintenance than this. Totally over grass? Turn traditional turf into a modern gravel lawn. This easy landscaping idea isn’t for everybody, but it makes a bold statement and requires little upkeep after installation. A gravel lawn is ideal for gardeners who love clean lines and modern design. But beware, gravel can get hot in the summer sun, so if you live in a warm climate this lawn alternative may not be for you. Go for all gravel or dot your new lawn with low-maintenance landscaping plants for a contemporary garden design.
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