Take these 10 tips to heart if you're serious about low-maintenance landscaping. Since watering and mowing the lawn consume a large chunk of yard care time, the biggest step you can take towards low-maintenance landscaping is reducing your watering needs and minimizing the amount of grass you must mow. So several of the articles show you how to become "water-wise" or introduce plants that serve as alternatives to grass. You'll also find labor-saving solutions for weeds, pests, pesky pets and snow removal.
1. Xeriscaping for Low-Maintenance Landscaping
Those who have had to mow lawns all their lives are acutely aware of just how much work lawns are. But lawns can also be costly, as when you have to replace one that has succumbed to drought. Don't wait for drought to strike to reconsider the wisdom of having extensive, labor-intensive, thirsty lawns. Instead, take preemptive action by changing your landscape design. This article explains one water-wise alternative to lawns: xeriscaping.2. Automatic Irrigation Systems
You've thought about having the convenience of an automatic irrigation system in your front yard, haven't you? Perhaps you've been torn between doing it yourself or having a professional installation. My tutorial could help you make up your mind and begin enjoying this handy aid to low-maintenance landscaping.3. Clover as an Alternative to Grass
Clover seed used to be included in the typical lawn seed mix, being appreciated as a ground cover with numerous attractive qualities. What do clover lawns have over grass lawns? How about drought-tolerance, cost-savings, environmental safety and low-maintenance landscaping? Interested? Clovers are insect-resistant, compete well with weeds and don't have to be mowed often, making these low-maintenance plants a superb substitute for grass.4. Moss as an Alternative to Grass
Moss are low-maintenance plants can be used as alternatives to lawn grass in shady spots, where grass refuses to grow. Considering how often moss grows in lawn areas problematic for grass, it readily suggests itself as just such an alternative. Don't laugh off planting moss as a crank idea: Paul James, no less, of HGTV fame, is a proponent of the idea.5. Drought-Tolerant Perennials
The perceptive will detect a subplot in this listing of low-maintenance approaches: water conservation. Plants that require a lot of water will be one of your biggest challenges if you are trying to reduce the amount of care your landscaping needs. The solution? Do not try to grow water-guzzlers in areas of the yard blasted by the sun all day long. Instead, opt for drought-tolerant perennials.6. Deer-Resistant Ground Covers
Ground covers are another landscape solution that can reduce watering needs and mowing time. But when deer pests come to snack on ground cover plants, you need to refine your landscape solution strategy. This article tells you which ground covers are effective in deer control -- plants that deer won't eat, saving you the time, energy and money required to replace eaten plants. And these deer-resistant ground covers have many other fine qualities that will give you plenty of reason to grow them.7. Rock Gardens for Low-Maintenance Landscaping
Rock gardens typically contain drought-tolerant, low-maintenance plants, and the rocks themselves offer a decor that never needs to be watered or tended to in any way! This Q & A piece discusses how to build rock gardens. Learn about plant selections for building rock gardens, with the aid of a database.8. Mulch: Low-Maintenance Landscaping Hero
Mulch is one of the unsung heroes of low-maintenance landscaping. It's highly portable, malleable and, for certain types of mulch, you can even make your own! If you have a problem area for which there seems to be no other solution, mulch is probably your answer -- especially if you need a quick and easy solution. An application of mulch can reduce your watering needs significantly. Mulch also suppresses weeds, making yard care much easier.9. Low-Maintenance Landscaping With Dogs
If your dogs are to be allowed to run about in the yard, you'll probably have to make adjustments to your landscaping. But the smartest adjustments you'll make are the ones that keep low-maintenance landscaping in mind....10. Low-Maintenance Landscaping in Winter: Snowmelt Systems
What, you say there's no yard care to worry about in winter? Those in the snowy North would beg to differ. Cleaning snow off the driveway is a time-consuming winter task. Discover modern technology's answer to this age-old problem: snowmelt systems. And while you may not be thinking about winter during the warmer seasons, consider that the planning and installation for snowmelt systems must be undertaken well before winter.
