Having a large garden can be a blessing and a curse. While it's great to have so much outdoor space to enjoy, keeping your garden in good condition can start to feel like a chore. If you aren't keen to hire a gardener but don't want to spend every waking hour tending to your backyard, then the tips below will help. Investing in time-saving equipment, choosing the right plants, and making calculated design choices will make a huge difference.
Choose plants that don't need much maintenance
Choose attractive perennial plants, and you can be sure that they'll provide you with beautiful colours year after year. Lavender is a lovely choice for scent and colour, and hardy plants like geraniums are available in loads of different shades. Purchase plug plants for the ultimate convenience—they're small enough to plant easily but large enough that you don't need to spend time caring for delicate seedlings. Many low-maintenance plants look very similar to other, needier flowers—for example, Penstemon looks a lot like foxgloves but requires much less care. Ask for advice at your local garden centre if there are any particular favourites you'd like to find alternatives to.
Invest in a ride-on lawn mower
For gardens with very large areas of grass, a ride-on mower is almost essential. Traditional electric lawn mowers which need to be connected to a power supply won't reach to areas that aren't close to the house, and having wires and extension cables trailing all over the place can be hazardous. It's also hard work covering a large area, not ideal if you are elderly or struggle to stand up for long periods of time. You'll likely also find that traditional mowers will need emptying multiple times per session, which is time-consuming and annoying.
Ride-on mowers don't need to be connected to a power supply, are large enough to be used multiple times without emptying, and don't require physical strength to use. Many people really enjoy using this kind of mower, and it may even become the highlight of your gardening routine. Choose a mower with a mulching facility for extra time saving—this won't need emptying and will fertilize your lawn for you.
Use clever landscaping
Creating paved areas is a great way to cut down on the area of wildlife you need to deal with—the most maintenance tiles require is an occasional wash with the hose pipe. You could also create paths out of small pebbles to separate your garden into distinct sections. Encourage visitors towards the most attractive areas of the garden, and steer them away from any areas that have been left to grow wild or become unkempt.
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