8 Genius Tips to Make Working in Your Garden a Breeze

Have you ever wondered how you can cut down on the amount of work you do in the garden without losing out on the enjoyment of your outdoor space? Let us guide you through a few ideas that you may find useful.  

Year Round Interest

To ensure that you have interest and colour in your garden all year choose plants such as shrubs and trees that look good regardless of the season, like the Paperbark Maple. It has spectacular bark and in autumn the foliage is vibrant. Evergreen shrubs such as Bay will also provide greenery year-round while Red Dogwood shows off bright red stems even in the depths of winter. Remember to also add different textures such as ornamental grasses and structural plants such as agave. 

Use More Mulch

Two of the tasks that take up most time in the garden are weeding and watering. By using more mulch on your soil you can reduce how long you spend on both of these jobs. You can use bark, wood chippings or gravel as mulch to retain moisture and suppress the growth of weeds. So you get more time to enjoy the beauty of your garden but with less work. 

Plant Upward

Rather than having large borders which need weeding and replenishing, plant a self-clinging climbing plant. In contrast to something like Wisteria, which needs support, self-clinging plants attach themselves to walls and fences. Climbing Hydrangea, Virginia Creeper and many different types of Ivy can be grown upward, without needing a trellis or wire and are relatively low maintenance. 

Introduce Wildness

Do your bit for the local wildlife and let part of your garden go wild. It will also mean less work for you. By letting the grass and flowers grow you are providing food, shelter and habitats for insects, birds and animals. 

If you do let your grass grow long you can still mow paths through it so you can wander around and appreciate the bees, butterflies and birds. Kids will love it. 

Install an External Socket

Although you can find ways to reduce the chores in your garden there will always be some work that needs to be done. Fortunately, there is usually a power tool for most jobs which makes things a lot easier. Installing an outside socket means you won’t need to have a cable trailing out of an open window while you cut the grass or powerwash the patio. You can also use an external socket for a laptop if you want to work from the garden or listen to music while you relax outside. 

Ditch the Grass

If you’re tired of trying to keep on top of the mowing consider replacing your lawn with some hard landscaping. Low-maintenance borders, paths and paved areas are a lot less work and can be a nice change of pace. It can also be an opportunity to give your garden a makeover and reduce your workload at the same time. 

Get a Robot Mower

Families with small children or those who love a lawn will want to hold onto their grass but probably don’t relish the constant cutting in the growing season. Invest in a robot mower and say hello again to lazy weekends. Although if you have small children those are probably a distant memory! There are robot mowers to suit most budgets and many have GPS so you don’t even need to install boundary wires.

Choose Low Maintenance Plants

Not all plants are high maintenance so seek out the ones that you can plant and then leave to their own devices. Lavender and rosemary are great for borders but need little intervention apart from a yearly prune, and they smell wonderful. Yellow Coneflowers, Lady’s Mantle and Mullein are all easy to care for and provide vibrant colour in the garden.