With the cost of living biting hard, people are being forced to work more hours to sustain a decent standard of living, or even just to get by. Whereas in the past, families could often survive with just one working parent, it’s now often the case that both parents need to work full-time. Add in caring for children and elderly relatives, plus doing the mandatory household chores and it’s perhaps no surprise that many people simply don’t have time to dedicate to properly maintaining a garden.

And it’s fair to say that keeping a garden looking good does require time and effort, particularly during the Spring and Summer when the growing season gets in full swing. Mowing the lawn, weeding, pruning and watering plants all takes time. Trees, shrubs, hedges and plants all need cutting back and maintaining regularly to ensure they don’t look unsightly.

It’s perhaps no surprise then that more people than ever are opting for a low maintenance garden to minimise the work required to keep it looking pristine, or at least presentable. But what can be done to make a garden low maintenance? Well, it’s a garden design that involves carefully selected plants and materials that require little or no maintenance over a period of time.

For instance, the use of gravel, block paving, patios and hardy, every-green plants often feature heavily in low maintenance garden designs. The use of lawns is often restricted to a small amount or none at all to avoid the burden of keeping this mowed during the warmer months. Instead, gravelled areas are often used to replace lawns, and these are often made more appealing by incorporating plants, lighting and features. Plants that require very little pruning and remain green through-out the year are also a common feature of low maintenance gardens. Shrubs are great as they’re long-lasting and won’t need replacing every year. Evergreen trees are also used as these do not drop their leaves in the autumn, therefore eliminating the need to rack the garden to remove dead leaves. The use of wildflowers is also a popular choice for low maintenance planted areas.

You might be inclined to think that a low maintenance garden may not be appealing, however, these can be made to look just as appealing as more traditional gardens through carefully designed spaces and by incorporating colour through gravel and plants. Lighting can also help make the space more appealing by night. For those that do still want to incorporate some green space into their gardens, artificial grass may also be an option. Although this is not great for the environment, the use of a little artificial grass may provide that much-needed alternative lawn space for children to play.

In an ideal world, we would all have the time to take proper care of our gardens, however, society has changed meaning people in general have less time and so must prioritise when it comes to how they allocate their time. A low maintenance garden is just one way in which the burden of home maintenance can be reduced.