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4 Simple Tips for Creating a Low-Maintenance Landscape Design

December 27, 2011

mulchOne of the best parts of landscape design is kicking back and enjoying the beautiful space your hard work has created. If you’re hoping to spend more time relaxing and less time working in your garden, the following four tips can help you achieve a low-maintenance yard.

1. Lay down mulch, the landscape design MVP.

Humble mulch is incredibly beneficial for your garden. Composed of organic materials such as wood bark, chopped up leaves and even lawn clippings, mulch provides a blanket of protection for the soil. Not only does mulch regulate soil temperature, but it also discourages the growth of weeds. Covering any bare soil with mulch will save you hours of backbreaking weed pulling later. In this way, mulching is a very important part of low-hassle landscape maintenance. Finally, mulch provides a crucial diet of nutrients as water runs through it all winter long. Mulch: It’s the secret weapon of lazy green thumbs from Louisville to Lake Oswego. Landscaper fabric can also be laid down under mulch to prevent nearly all weeds from popping up.

2. Put in irrigation systems to save money and time.

Landscaping maintenance experts recommend irrigation systems for several reasons. First, they cut down manual landscape maintenance hours by watering plants for you at designated times (usually in the early morning and evening). And because they deliver water right to the roots, irrigation systems save water over manual sprinkler systems. (Just be sure that you call a Lake Oswego landscaper to winterize your irrigation system in the fall to avoid any broken components in the spring.)

3. Install xeriscaping, purposeful landscape design.

“Go with the flow” could be the motto of low-key landscape maintenance. Xeriscaping is one way of designing your landscape with natural water conditions in mind. For instance, if the infamous Pacific Northwest rain leaves big puddles in one corner of your yard, consider adding a rain garden there to soak up excess water. Meanwhile, Portland and Lake Oswego landscaper services often find that some soil protected by eaves or covered structures can be dry.   A xeriscaped kitchen garden with protected eaves or a covered structure could include borage, hyssop, lavender, oregano, rosemary and thyme, all of which thrive in dry soil.

4. Select low-maintenance species.

Carefully reading the specimen tags will help you find the best species for your needs. Tigard and Lake Oswego landscaper supply store employees are happy to provide more information on pruning and maintenance requirements for various plants, as well. In general, flowering and coniferous shrubs will fill your landscape design with beauty while requiring very little upkeep.

[ photo by: normanack, on Flickr, via CC License ]

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