Everyone wants a beautiful garden in which they can relax and be at one with their own little piece of the great outdoors. The trouble is that very few of us have the time and effort spare to commit to maintaining one. Mowing the lawn, weeding, planting and all of the usual activities necessary for a beautiful garden may be fun and easy over the summer months but when the leaves fall from the trees and the rain clouds come out in force, many of us prefer the creature comforts of the great indoors.

The quandary, then, is how can we put together a garden that is not only beautiful all year round but requires an absolute bare minimum of maintenance. Believe it or not, it can be done. Here’s how…

Lose the lawn

A lush green lawn is a beautiful addition to any garden, but it also requires regular maintenance. If you’re not prepared for mowing, clipping and weeding on a weekly basis then it may be time to consider the alternatives. Fortunately they can be both beautiful and affordable. Paving your garden gives you absolute control over the look of your garden and with the huge variety of colors, shapes and materials on offer, there’s huge scope for customization allowing you to tailor the look of your garden to your own personal tastes. Of course, even the most robust weed control membrane may be breached every once in awhile so it’s important to be vigilant and patrol your garden with a bottle of weed killer handy every now and then.

For those who want the low maintenance benefits of paving while still enjoying the ability to plant, gravel lends a Mediterranean style to your garden while allowing you to plant drought resistant plants like lavender. This way you can give your garden some beautiful, colorful flourishes that provide nectar and pollen for visiting insects while also preventing weeds.

However, if you want the appearance of turf, as well as providing a soft, safe surface for your children to play on, a synthetic turf such as Multiturf may offer you the best of both worlds. Synthetic turfs look and feel much like regular grass yet require no mowing or other maintenance. For those who want a neat, lush lawn all year round, synthetic turf is the way to go.

The perfect plants

A lawn free garden will require some plants to prevent it from looking and feeling sterile and lifeless. But since we’re looking for low maintenance options, it’s vitally important to choose the right plants. Fortunately, there are many beautiful and hardy perennials that will add color and vibrancy to your garden yet expect almost nothing in return. Evergreen shrubs like holly, lavender and daphne are famously reliable though if you’re looking for a little more range of color we recommend the ‘Jules Verne’ peony, the Japanese barberry and ribbon grass.

With a little imagination, a beautiful yet relatively maintenance free garden is not a pipe dream but an affordable and attainable goal.