No hassle. How to create a beautiful garden that does not require complex care

Modern landscape design and gardening have been moving in a direction that could be called “back to nature” for quite some time. This is due not only to attempts to reduce the cost of care and free up more time for leisure, but also to the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and concern for the environment.

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

It is no secret that, for example, in the forest and field no one takes care of the plants, but nevertheless, many of these places can compete with our gardens in beauty. What can we learn from nature? First of all, create not only decorative and useful for us, but also sustainable plant communities that require a minimum of attention.

Little is not zero!

Seeing the enticing title “Low Care Garden” will probably make even an experienced gardener slow down, not to mention beginners who believe everything. I want to disappoint you right away. A low-maintenance garden is a very popular, desired and unattainable... fairy tale! Unless, of course, it is a garden, and not a car park rolled into asphalt with a carefully thought-out place for a barbecue. If you are satisfied with this option, then the flag, or rather, a broom for sweeping asphalt, is in your hands and bon appetit! But I am sure that our reader is not like that. He just wants to minimize his physical and time costs. And this is understandable! There are usually only two days off per week, and only one vacation per year. And the mushrooms in the forest will soon grow, and the water in the lake will warm up... After all, nothing human is alien even to a gardener... Andrey Ganov, an experienced gardener

Woody instead of herbaceous

Trees and shrubs can rightfully be called the “skeleton” of any garden. They not only shape the appearance of the site, but also allow you to spend the least amount of time on maintenance. Gardens with a predominance of woody plants, mainly coniferous species, they look good even when they stop caring for them altogether.

Mature trees and shrubs require very little time and labor: just pruning 1-2 times a year and occasional watering. It is thanks to their always good appearance and ease of care that they are so popular in European front gardens.

The range of tree crops is very extensive: you can find plants of any size and shape, with decorative foliage or beautifully flowering, deciduous or evergreen. True, the latter usually require more attention. Among them are seemingly unpretentious conifers: there are many “capricious” species and varieties that need shelter from spring sun at least in the first years after planting (many thujas, junipers, hemlocks). The most reliable of the conifers are usually the forms of Scots spruce or mountain pine.

It would seem that what could be more unpretentious than Scots pine? However, from experience, those selected in more warm countries varieties of this species often do not fare well in the climate of central Russia.

Among the shrubs there are also relatively low-growing ones that can be used as a kind of alternative to the lawn - these are spirea, stephanandra, horizontal juniper, microbiota. Over time, when they grow (or if the planting was initially dense), almost no weeds appear under them. And, of course, the traditional way to reduce weeding and watering of any plantings is to mulch the soil with loose organic materials (chopped branches, bark, fallen leaves, mown grass, etc.). But we must remember that the use of coniferous bark acidifies the soil, which not all plants like.

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

Trouble-free way!

You often hear that a coniferous garden requires almost no maintenance. This is partly true. But I would make a small addition. Coniferous forest - yes, it does not require maintenance. Fir trees and pine trees are growing, becoming from year to year more and more like some of the Kremlin New Year's trees, and others of mast linemen. But speaking of coniferous garden, we still mean something else: a variety of varietal larches, spruces, junipers, pseudo-hemlocks and just hemlocks... And for a low-maintenance garden, preference should be given to the slowest-growing varieties. So that we have no other concern other than admiring! Those that grow quickly require more attention to themselves: mandatory and timely annual pruning, sometimes radical. And this, believe me, goes against the idea of ​​low-income. And, of course, you should not plant conifers that are problematic for your region. For example, the popular Canadian spruce ‘Konika’, which suffers greatly from the spring sun, is simply contraindicated for the gardens of our Karelian Isthmus. Not only does it take a lot of time to annually cut out the “burnt” branches, but we usually plant it in the most visible place. And at the sight of a “beauty” with brown and blackened needles, the gardener’s mood becomes very bleak. A. Ganov

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

Meadow instead of lawn

The lawn is a wonderful backdrop for planting, but it is extremely labor-intensive. Judge for yourself: in the spring you need to comb it out, remove old dry grass, make punctures so that the roots of the grass breathe better, mow it every week or two in the summer, water it so that there are no areas with excess or insufficient hydration(otherwise unsightly stains may appear on it), fertilize regularly... Alas, a garden carpet requires constant effort.

The search for alternatives has been going on for quite some time. A good option is to replace the lawn with a “natural meadow”. Such a meadow needs to be mowed only once or twice a season, and not weekly, like a lawn. True, after mowing it loses its decorative effect for one or two weeks until the grass grows back. But you can forgive the meadow what you don’t want to forgive the lawn: even if in some place the grass grows worse, spots appear, the color is not cheerfully green enough or the grass falls due to rain and wind - this will not spoil the almost natural community.

The meadow must be laid out specifically. An overgrown lawn cannot become one, if only because the density of planting grasses on the lawn is much higher than grasses and perennials in the meadow. The main problem that you may encounter if you want to create a real meadow is rhizomatous weeds: wheatgrass, sow thistle, and sowweed. They pose no danger on the lawn because they do not tolerate constant mowing. In the meadow, they feel very at ease and can kill cultivated plants. The only way to avoid this is to thoroughly clear the area allocated for the meadow of weed roots in advance.

There are special grass mixtures designed to create a meadow. As a rule, they consist of seeds of both annual and perennial plants: While perennial grasses will develop, annuals will provide decorative value in the first season. Such mixtures can also be thematic - for example, intended for more humid or dry places, with a predominance of flowers of certain shades, or with the participation of plants attractive to bees and butterflies. Unfortunately, the range of such seeds offered by our garden centers is not yet very large.

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

Don't create difficulties for yourself!

There is a widespread misconception among people that, they say, “I’ll plant everything with a lawn and won’t do anything else.” I'm not even talking about the fact that only a good, even, like a pool table, emerald-colored lawn. And this requires very serious effort and skills. But let's say you did it anyway. And lovingly you call him nothing more than “my English.” Let's come down to earth: in May you will be fed and mastered a new mechanism under the frightening name “verticutter”. Every Saturday in the summer there is a haircut. And so on. Attention, lovers of the “easy life” in the garden: the lawn is not for you! A. Ganov

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

Flower garden: natural instead of traditional

In principle, a flower garden or mixborder we are accustomed to cannot be low-maintenance. To make it look beautiful, you need to constantly trim faded flowers, tie up plants, monitor their neatness and appearance. Not to mention the weeding!

New Horizons

The appearance of flower beds, which really require almost no maintenance, is associated with the advent of the “new wave” - popular in last years landscape design style. Most famous representative this direction - Dutch breeder and designer Piet Oudolf- turned an imitation of wild prairies into a trendy garden solution. Such flower beds, of course, may not appeal to lovers of bright roses and peonies, but their beauty is difficult not to appreciate.

The basic principle of the “new wave” flower beds is planting identical plants in large arrays (sometimes with individual accent inclusions of other species). It is not the beauty of each individual flower that is valued, but the overall appearance of the plant - its shape and ability to look good both in summer and winter come to the fore, because perennials in such flower beds are either not pruned at all or are pruned at the beginning of the next season. This is their main difference from traditional English mixborders, which have become the basis of flower beds in our gardens.

Adapt to natural conditions

There is no need to act against nature! The result will not be long in coming. For example, if fate has given you a semi-shaded area with a large number of trees, abundant undergrowth and the obligatory coolness of the forest, then there is probably no need to try to arrange a Versailles with a hundred or two roses or a classic English mixborder under the shade of hundred-year-old birch or pine trees. Disappointment from what you have done will come very quickly. And you will increasingly remember the parable of Sisyphus... But don’t be discouraged! You have at your disposal a huge number of shade-loving plants, which, of course, will not make Versailles, but you can get a beautiful, unique and, importantly, low-maintenance garden in all respects, where the kings of such places - rhododendrons - will feel good. Semi-shaded places are the kingdom of hostas, lungworts, buzulniks, ferns, ornamental conifers and many other, dare I say it, gorgeous plants. A. Ganov

The “new wave” flower garden does not have to look neat. The plants fell apart - and okay! After all, you can also fall apart in style, as, for example, burnets or veronicastrum do (unlike tall tulips, delphiniums and gladioli, which cannot do without a garter). And how can such grains as pike, molinia or reed grass look neat? Of course not! But it is precisely the mass of inflorescences that they grow that gives the flower garden airiness, volume, and softness of transitions between brightly flowering perennials.

Photo: AiF/ Marina Banulina

Choose carefully

Do you still insist on a traditional mixborder? Pay attention to such a parameter of ornamental perennials as their growth rate. If the curtain grows by more than 5–10 cm per year (such as monarda, physostegia, yarrow, meadowsweet, many autumn-flowering asters, falaris, manna), “keeping the plant in check” will require effort. Plants that need to be divided frequently to maintain their health and decorativeness (niverberry, delphinium, bearded irises, lilies) or, conversely, those that tend to reproduce by self-sowing (sapling, rudbeckia). By planting them, you are planting future problems with your own hands! A flower garden made up of more compact perennials that rarely require division (hostas, daylilies, peonies, phlox, Siberian and Japanese irises, hellebores, cereals growing in a dense bush) will require much less effort to maintain beauty. Surprisingly, even a ceremonial rose garden often needs less care than a flower garden of the most common unpretentious perennials. Elena Kozhina, experienced gardener

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko Should you prune your plants in the fall? What for? Miscanthus, reed grass, monarda, echinacea, veronicastrum, mullein will last well all winter, creating the volume that the winter garden so lacks. After all, an ordinary mixborder with stems cut in the fall looks like a boring plane until spring. Is it a “new wave” flower garden? It is especially beautiful after the first snowfall, when the snow has only dusted but not yet broken the dried grass stems.

Cleaning and pruning are carried out in the spring, when the snow has melted, but perennials and grasses have not yet begun to grow. In the climate of central Russia, this begins in mid-April. When cutting, you usually have to use a sickle or pruning shears, since the stems of many tall perennials are too stiff and simply raking them will not work. Most varietal plants do not self-sow (they are specially selected for this characteristic), so everything cut can be safely placed in garden shredder and get excellent mulching material. Mulch helps reduce water evaporation, reduce the number of germinating weed seeds and, rotting, turns into excellent loose soil over time. Unlike conifer bark, crushed perennial stems do not acidify the soil.

What to give up?

If the idea of ​​low-maintenance gardening is at the forefront, then you will have to “give up” some plants. First of all, these are young perennials (there is such a slightly absurd-sounding concept!). Such plants include many varietal echinaceas (regrettably), some primroses, columbine plants, snakeheads... The fact that these plants are short-lived does not mean that they will become “Persona non Grata” in your garden. You just need to remember that they will require a little more attention than “true perennials”, sometimes capable of living in one place for a hundred years: herbaceous peonies, hostas, many ferns, etc. A. Ganov Can such a flower garden be called completely maintenance-free? Certainly not. But it requires much less attention than the usual flower border. Except spring pruning, it will have to be watered in the driest months, occasionally fertilized and weeded once or twice a season, since, despite the mulch, weed seeds will still germinate.

Practical solutions

No to weeds!

No matter how hard we try to create garden compositions “once and for all” and not care for them later, there are plants that can ruin all our good undertakings. We are talking about rhizomatous weeds (wheatgrass, sow thistle, bindweed and others). Before you plant anything, it is vital to clear the area completely of them. Otherwise, the “invaders” will sooner or later re-conquer the entire territory.

Of course, fighting perennial weeds is an activity that is difficult to classify as “minor garden care.” But this preparatory process is necessary.

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

Glyphosate-based herbicides kill all plants, so crops must be protected from it. In case of accidental contact, it is better not to wash off the solution, but to cut off the affected leaves and shoots.

The ideal, but, alas, practically unavailable option for getting rid of weeds is to completely remove the plant soil and fill the entire area with compost from food waste, as is done when creating “new wave” flower beds in Europe. If it is impossible to replace the soil, to clean the area intended for planting ornamental plants, as a rule, it is necessary to use herbicides. Twice, with a 10-day break, treating the area with a glyphosate-based product (Roundup, Tornado, Hurricane Forte, Agrokiller and others) almost completely destroys the wart. The treatment is carried out in the spring, when the leaves of the tree have just begun to open; the remaining plants will have to be removed manually in the future.

Photo: AiF/ Victor Tropchenko

In addition, regular mowing of weeds at the root for one or two seasons (after digging and removing most of the rhizomes) helps. Covering the soil with cardboard and then adding a layer of soil on top is also quite effective: the borer cannot penetrate the cardboard and dies, and over time the paper decomposes and ceases to be an obstacle to the roots of cultivated plants. After treatment with herbicides, you can sow the soil with green manure and then dig it up. But, alas, not a single method works one hundred percent.

Weeding - on time!

A paradoxical but true statement: in order for a garden to be easy to care for, it must be cared for correctly and in a timely manner. For example, one of the most hated procedures in the garden - weeding - can be minimized if done on time. The easiest time to fight weeds is in late spring and early summer, when they have already grown sufficiently, but in no case have had time to bloom and inseminate. In addition, ornamental plants should be planted densely enough so that their leaves meet and shade the ground. This also makes life very difficult for weeds. And timely mowing of not only your own lawn, but also the surrounding inconveniences will not allow weeds to inseminate. So it turns out: in order to work less in the garden, you need to work hard! A. Ganov

However, if it is planned to plant trees, shrubs and powerful tall perennials (for example, miscanthus, knotweed or saplings), then wheatgrass and wheatgrass are unlikely to harm them. Well, in shaded places, the disease can be dealt with by dense planting of pachysandra, kupena, hosta and other plants that form dense clumps.

Personal experience. Harvest without hassle

Marina Novikova, Moscow:

— I am a classic “weekend gardener.” Grandchildren and grandmother constantly live at the dacha in the summer, but looking after children and housework takes up all her time - there is absolutely no time to care for plants. But you still want your own greens, fruits and berries! So you have to get out of it in order to get the maximum return with a minimum of effort.

1. And most importantly. Don't plant too much! Calculate how much harvest you really need. The simplest example: if you really only need two dozen young carrots for summer soups and for children to nibble on, then you don’t need a whole bed of carrots, one row 1-2 m long will be enough for you. Moreover, if you still have nowhere to store root vegetables. The same applies to berry fields and orchards. It’s easier to plant a couple of trees and bushes good varieties and how to care for them (it won’t take much time!), rather than either admire the army of neglected, weakly fruiting “suffocated” ones, or spend a lot of energy on caring for them, and then “choke” on the harvest.

Photo: AiF/Elena Kozhina 2. The better the plan is drawn up, the less work itself is needed later. A rationally organized vegetable garden (compact, with convenient passages and easy access to water), thoughtful crop rotation, and timely agrotechnical operations will make dacha work as efficient as possible.

3. “Plowing” the garden beds is not valor! Anything that can make aftercare easier is greatly appreciated. For example, permanent fenced beds with paths paved, mulched, or covered with old mats or black non-woven material. Straw under strawberries. Potato and cabbage beds covered with thin white “non-fabric” allow you to forget about pests. Low crowns fruit trees, making them easier to care for. Mulch under the bushes. Are there a lot of useful techniques?

4. What about technology? After all, it’s the 21st century, whatever one may say! There is a huge amount useful devices, allowing you to automate labor-intensive operations, and many of them are quite affordable. For example, systems drip irrigation or automatically opening windows for a greenhouse. You will be surprised how much time and effort this will save in the end!

As a rule, the creation of a garden begins on a wave of inspiration, the desire to get results instantly. 3-4 years pass and it turns out that there is absolutely not enough time and energy. Looking at the overgrown rose gardens, alpine slides, lush greenery nettles, general desolation, hands down. The owners begin to panic. What to do?

Some people give up on the idea of ​​a garden and stop: the garden becomes a continuous green lawn, which is trimmed periodically. Others try to plant new plants, install new decorative elements: and the garden turns into a warehouse of unkempt plants and unnecessary things. Still others give up on their dreams and turn to landscape designers for help. Help from specialists - good idea. But you are depriving yourself of the opportunity to make a fairy tale come true with your own hands. The spirit of the “pioneer”, the creator, the artist is lost.

Diagnosis is an ill-conceived approach. What should we do? Start fixing errors. Planning and landscape design should be subordinated to the main goal - obtaining an easy-to-maintain garden. Take into account the motto “Through thorns to the stars.” But don't overload yourself. Remember to enjoy your work.

And in order to solve the problem, you must adhere to the following rules.

Rule 1.
Outline a plan and analyze the possibility of its implementation.

A large number of different plants requires a lot of effort and time. When purchasing plants, remember that each of them should have its place and perform a specific function.

Exotic plants will help travel lovers enjoy dreams of distant lands, modest wildflowers will evoke nostalgic memories of childhood. Some plants can “revive”, for example, the space near outbuildings.

Plan small seating areas. Place benches or stumps there to sit on. Make a mini-pond from an old basin. Even one water lily planted in it will please the eye.

Rule 2.
Place garden elements that are quite difficult to care for compactly so that you don’t have to “run” around the entire garden.

For example, if you plan to come to your dacha only on weekends to relax with friends, arrange a specific corner. Here you can set up a barbecue grill, or plan a small pond or waterfall. Leave the rest of the area untouched.

It would be nice if the “water features” were visible from anywhere in the garden. Especially from the window of the house.

Take the location of communications seriously. If a fireplace or barbecue is planned, lighting will not be superfluous, since preparing barbecue can last until the evening.

When planning a pond or waterfall, don't forget about the drainage.

When planning a rose garden, also remember that it needs watering. Therefore, having a water tap is necessary: ​​you will not pull a watering hose across the entire garden.

Rule 3.
The main priority is still architectural details.

This does not mean that everything should be primitive: a bench and a flower bed. But a pile of various details will not decorate the garden. Everything is good in moderation.

To prevent the area from seeming “empty,” arrange single flower beds in large flowerpots. Sometimes an old lantern or a small sculpture will liven up a space better than a huge flower bed.

Fawn made from brushwood

Consider the style of garden layout. If you are a supporter of classic “park” ensembles, then the layout will naturally be more straightforward. Small alleys, flower beds, fountains are what you need. Against their background, country style details will look very inappropriate.

And vice versa, if the “rustic” style is closer to you, then “Greek” columns are of no use here. Cozy corners, winding paths, wooden benches, even an old trough will add a unique charm. Some parts can be made with your own hands from plaster, wire or wood.

Rule 4.
Use small architectural forms.

Little things also play an important role: they will add originality and will not require significant maintenance efforts. Plant unpretentious plants around. Small lanterns, arches, decorative stones will make the garden more comfortable and cozy.

Furniture should be chosen that is not bulky or formulaic. Come up with something exclusive: even an old chair or armchair can be given new life.

The highlight of the garden can be small plants, surrounded by emerald greenery. It is not necessary to plant a huge number of flowers that will be difficult to care for. Plant climbing nasturtium or ampelous petunia and it will become wonderful decoration. Old rubber boots or boots can also act as flower pots.

To illuminate the paths, alpine slides Small solar-powered flashlights will do.

Rule 5.
It is worth choosing “proven” plants that do not require special care.

Give preference to your favorite plants. But remember that annual plants require care, so plant them compactly. For example, in flower boxes under windows or containers that can be transported if a new idea “visits” you.

Tall plants will hide areas that your hands cannot reach. Canadian goldenrod (Solidago) or small-fruited macleia can cope with this. And tall ornamental grasses will hide the imperfections of the landscape.

Choose a place for indoor plants, after all Fresh air it won't hurt them. But remember that you should first carry out preventive protection against insect pests (aphids, caterpillars).

Use plants native to your area. For example, primroses dwarf irises, lungwort, and clover will contribute to decorating the garden. Just don't mix wild growing plants with garden plants. You can organize a corner of “wild” nature. Moreover, wild plants require virtually no maintenance.

By following these rules, you can always have beautiful garden without much hassle.

Unpretentious flowers will help create a garden for relaxation. If you don’t have enough time, you are busy at work and at home, but you want to occasionally come to the garden and admire the bright flower beds, choose unpretentious flowers.

Unpretentious flowers - a bright, well-kept garden without the hassle

There are people who are passionate about their garden, who like to grow interesting, sometimes rare plants, constantly look after them, admire and be proud of them, people who spend a lot of time on their plot, constantly weeding, watering, planting, digging, trimming, pruning, etc. etc., people to whom this activity brings a lot of pleasure and joy. And how nice it is to enter such a garden, where every corner is made with love.

But not everyone manages to find enough time for their plot due to being very busy at work and at home. And for some, gardening chores simply do not evoke much enthusiasm and the garden is perceived as a place where you can relax in nature with friends or family, “at a barbecue” or in a hammock. But, even if you visit your site very rarely, you still want to see it not overgrown with weeds, but beautiful and blooming. And it is possible. You just need to choose the right plants for your garden, from those that require a minimum of care, and which, despite this, are able to remain decorative throughout the season.

Be sure to plant in your garden, choosing ones that suit your climate and do not require regular trimming. They will make hedges that will help delimit your garden into zones, and beautiful flowering shrubs can be planted in groups or individually in the middle of the lawn or in a flowerbed as solo plants.

Instead of a regular lawn, which is quite labor-intensive to care for, sow a lawn of white creeping clover or trampling-resistant ground cover plants.

For vertical landscaping on an arch, wall or pergola, plant or hops. True, hops are quite an aggressive plant, so if you decide to plant it, you should limit its spreading by digging plastic or iron plates into the soil. But girlish grapes, in my opinion, are more decorative and less aggressive, so it’s still better to opt for them.

Of course, the main decoration of the garden is. And the hassle-free garden is no exception. The basis of the so-called flower bed for the lazy are unpretentious perennial flowers. As for annual flowers, it is quite difficult to create bright, long-blooming flower beds without them, but it is quite possible to select types of annual flowers that do not require special care and tedious cultivation of seedlings that can be planted directly in open ground. When buying flower seeds, pay attention to information on growing conditions, not just a pretty picture, and never buy different mixtures of flowers.

Perennial unpretentious flowers:

Among perennials, you need to select drought-resistant plants that do not require regular watering. In addition, it is advisable to choose perennials that can grow in one place, without requiring division and replanting, for at least more than 5 years.

In sunny and slightly shaded places, plant herbaceous, tansy,. For shaded areas, for example, or.

Annual unpretentious flowers:

Among the annual plants, you need to choose drought-resistant plants that can be planted directly in open ground; it would be nice if they self-seeded and subsequently sown themselves :). You can recommend, for example, and.

Bulbous unpretentious flowers:

Even if you have limited time, you can keep your garden beautiful so that on rare visits you can enjoy the next bloom of various flowers. Of course, even unpretentious plants need minimal care. Be sure to water them well if you have already arrived. Water them at least once before they grow. To make weeding easier, use special devices– weed pads or you can use modern methods weed control - chemicals. At least once a season, feed the plants with complex fertilizer.

By choosing the right plants and planting them in accordance with the growing conditions necessary for them, it is quite possible to minimum costs time and effort to create a paradise for outdoor recreation. That's what I wish for you.

Categories

A beautiful colorful garden from spring to late autumn is not a dream. But not everyone wants to spend all their time on the property, planting flower beds and caring for the lawn. How can you minimize the effort to enjoy the colors of the garden while lying on a chaise longue with a book or rocking on a garden rocking sofa? Firstly, plan the landscape correctly and, secondly, select plants that require a minimum of care.

Think about which garden is easier for you to keep neat - a regular French one, requiring frequent trimming of garden forms, flower beds that exclude even a hint of weeds, or a slightly neglected English one with its free layout? Logic dictates that English version more convenient.

The fewer flower beds in the garden, the easier it is to care for. Choose colorful shrubs that change their appearance throughout the seasons. But it’s still difficult to imagine a luxurious garden without flowers. And they need beautiful background- lay out large areas for a lawn or a picturesque lawn with clover, daisies, and tenacious. Weeds are not so noticeable on it - just mow them. By the way, daisies easily tolerate pruning and bloom wonderfully, very low above the rosettes of leaves.

A beautifully blooming front garden filling the space in front of the house’s facade will create the feeling of a painstakingly cultivated garden. But the rest of the area can be left as a lawn surrounded by bushes. Instead of flower beds of geometric shapes, create mixborders with a free arrangement of different plants. They look more picturesque and even look good when overgrown with weeds.

Choose plants that are resistant to our climate and can tolerate frost. Combine plants with different foliage in height, shape and color, so that even in bloom the garden remained decorative. Arrange mixborders at the intersection of paths to complicate the image of the garden.

If there is a difference in the landscape on the site, do not be afraid to create terraces and retaining walls - they will enrich the picture of the garden and make it more picturesque.

A paved patio will also do a great job of creating a backdrop for flowers, and at the same time it will less problems with mowing the lawn - a tiring task, even if you use a self-propelled gasoline lawn mower.

By the way, high-quality equipment will greatly simplify garden care. In addition to a lawnmower suitable for open, flat areas, stock up on a gas trimmer to trim grass and weeds around bushes and trees.

Lawn advice
As soon as the grass grows above ten centimeters, weekly trimming (or at least once every two weeks) will accompany your time in the garden. Remember that proper mowing of the lawn involves mowing with a “snake”, so that the grass crushed by the wheels falls under the blade of the mower moving in the opposite direction.

The shape of the lawn and the organization of the surrounding plantings are very important. The more separately growing plantings in the middle of the lawn, the more time you will spend. The border between the lawn and continuous plantings is another important solution for simplifying maintenance.

Optimizing lawn mowing is not a reason to completely abandon tapeworm in the middle of it. If we are talking about a tree, form its crown at such a height that you can walk under it freely. Plant plants that must be spaced apart from each other no closer than the width of the lawn mower wheels, otherwise you will have to trim the grass with a trimmer, which is quite tedious.

To avoid soil contamination between off-lawn plantings, cover the soil with decorative mulch (such as bark). Between young plantings, it is worth covering the ground with non-woven material and sprinkling with gravel - this will eliminate weeding and the ubiquitous grass. Or if fresh plantings shrubs and perennials require filling the space between young plants; bright annuals can be used.

What to plant in the garden
Refuse to plant annuals through seedlings - choose those that easily develop without care, do not require preliminary germination, bloom for a long time and brightly, and also self-sow the next year: Eschscholzia, self-seeding poppy (Papaver rhoеas), annual flax ( Linum grandiflorum), cornflower (Centaurea), toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), calendula (Calendula officinalis).

Bulbous flowers: buried and forgotten
Tulips and hyacinths are magical spring flowers that delight the eye at the beginning of the season. But imagine what will happen in their place in the summer, as soon as the flowers fade? Drying leaves, which you cannot cut off yet, so as not to deprive the bulb of the accumulated useful substances. But after the leaves have completely dried, you need to have time to dig up the bulbs to dry. And at the end of summer or beginning of autumn you will have to replant them.

Therefore, everything that needs to be dug up annually for drying or for wintering indoors and then replanted (tulips, hyacinths, anemones, gladioli, crocosmias, and tuberous dahlias) is, alas, better not to plant.

It’s better to choose bulbs that will grow well if you don’t dig them up at all. Beautiful, although not so large flowers: Puschkinia, Scilla, Muscari, Brodiaea, Leucojum, blooms in spring and summer, crocuses (Crocus) - spring blooming and autumn blooming, Camassia - spectacular blue flowers, blooming in early summer, decorative onions decorating the garden with balls of flowers on tall stems in midsummer. Be sure to plant a lot of lilies - Asiatic and LA hybrids. But refrain from the eastern ones, they winter much worse in middle lane Russia. Caring for these flowers is minimal - fertilizing with fertilizer for bulbous flowers.

If you really want tulips, plant wild species: they look quite unusual. Daffodils can bloom well in one place without digging for about 4-5 years. The only problem is the yellowing leaves, which cannot be cut off until they dry completely. Therefore, choose a place for them next to perennials, which will cover them with their leaves in the summer.

However, if you cannot imagine your garden without large, beautiful tulips in the spring, place their bulbs in plastic mesh in the ground - this will make it easier and faster to dig them up to dry. Allow yourself to forget about this process for a year - one summer spent in the ground without drying will not cause such terrible damage to the flowering of tulips next year. The ideal “shelter” for faded bulbous plants will be hostas, peonies, and daylilies.

You should not be afraid of weeds and constantly fight with them. A garden close to country style is suited to slight neglect. The latest trends at the Chelsea Garden Show are further proof that weeds can brighten up the garden.

Leave the natural shapes characteristic of your soil. They will give the garden a more natural look. For example, an ordinary garden chamomile creates beautiful compositions and connects plantings without any participation from the gardener. In addition, it blooms for a long time and is very resistant to heat and drought. Even burdock with its huge leaves can look impressive, and thistles can decorate a composition with lupins and rudbeckias with their flowers.

Perennials - only the most unpretentious
Peonies require regular fertilization, watering before flowering and cutting off the foliage before winter, but this care will pay off a hundredfold when the garden is filled with huge fragrant flowers. Daylilies will grow magnificently on sunny place and, like peonies, even after they bloom, they will look decorative and neat.

Decorative foliage and beautiful arrows with white or lilac hosta bell flowers are ideal for semi-shaded and shady places(including under trees, but not near the trunks). True, the hostas will need to be pruned after the first frost, which will “beat” their leaves, and in October they will need to be mulched with soil for the winter.

Irises - Siberian (Irissibírica) and marsh (Iris pseudacoru), easy to care for - will decorate moist, sunny places in the garden. Before the onset of winter, they will also need to be cut at a height of 10 cm above the ground. Bearded irises will require more care: weeding, digging up rhizomes (bearded irises stop blooming profusely and begin to get sick when their rhizomes are buried), shelter for the winter. But still, bearded irises are one of the best jewelry garden in June. To make it easier to care for them, choose old, proven varieties that grow quickly and are disease-resistant.

Chamomiles, lupins, rudbeckias are all very resilient plants that look beautiful both in flower beds (elongated flower beds) and separately in a mixborder. They can be grown in the garden directly from seeds.

Biennials - Turkish cloves(Dianthus barbatus), hollyhock (Alcea rosea) - also suitable for gardens and mixborders and are very easy to grow. The only thing that needs to be taken into account is that they bloom only in the second year after planting, and then they need to be removed and replanted, otherwise lush flowering it won't be anymore.

Flowering shrubs
To almost completely free yourself from the hassle of caring for your garden, create a multi-layered composition of beautifully flowering shrubs . Arrange the shrubs different types, heights and shapes along the perimeter of your garden, near the fence, next to buildings. The more picturesque, the better - even if one of them freezes over the winter, the neighbors will hide its unkempt appearance.

Common lilac is a must-have in a garden that requires little care. In May, the aroma of its flowers will fill the entire garden, and the beauty is lush flowering bushes everyone knows. Choose varieties with large double flowers - “Nadezhda”, “Beauty of Moscow” and other varieties by L.A. Kolesnikov, which are amazing in the size of their flowers and winter well in the Moscow region. The only concern is to trim off the faded racemes after flowering.

In a sunny place, the bladderwort can quickly grow into a huge, spreading, three-meter bush. To create a contrasting composition with other shrubs and flowers, choose one of the brightest expressive varieties - Physocarpus Diablo with dark foliage. In June it will be covered with white flowers, collected in slightly pinkish scutes. In June, the mock orange (garden jasmine) will decorate the garden with its white flowers with the scent of jasmine.

White dogwood (Cornus alba) in its popular variegated form blooms beautifully in spring, turns impressively pink in autumn, and its red branches are spectacular even in leafless conditions. winter garden. Plant turf on wet soils, where it quickly develops, and always in the rear part of the composition, otherwise soon the neighbors will not be visible behind it - the derain, like the silver elk, behaves quite aggressively, taking up much more space than was allotted according to the plan.

Don’t forget about rose hips - after the fragrant flowers, they have bright fruits left to decorate the garden.

Decide for yourself by assessing the volume of necessary autumn work, are you ready to see forsythia in your garden? This still leafless bush is strewn with yellow flowers. in early spring makes a great impression. By autumn, its graceful foliage turns different colors. But for good flowering of forsythia, it is necessary to hide it in a shelter during the winter near Moscow: in the fall, you will have to pay special attention to forsythia, bending its branches to the ground and wrapping it with lutrasil.

For the foreground in a composition of shrubs and perennials, spireas in all their diversity are suitable - gray spirea (Spirae a cinerea), Japanese spirea (Spiraeajaponica), Vanguta spirea (Spiraeavanhouttei) and others. All of them are very decorative: they bloom beautifully, and in different time and without any care. The branches of the low gray spirea are completely covered with small white flowers in the spring. In the summer and even again in the fall (when pruned after flowering), Japanese spirea has flower shields of pink flowers.

Tree hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) and paniculata (Hydrangea paniculata) are decorations for semi-shaded places in the garden. It looks great in compositions with coniferous plants.

Barberries (often found common barberry Berberis vulgaris and Thunberg barberry Berberisthunbergi) bloom with yellow flowers not very impressive, but their characteristic leaves and branches with small red berries look very decorative. Moreover, last year’s berries remain on the bush. The same can be said about the European euonymus, extremely decorative in the fall thanks to its flaming foliage and its special fruits in the form of open bright pink boxes with orange berries inside.

Willow whole-leaved "Hakuro Nishiki" (SalixintegraHakuro Nishiki) - another ornamental shrub, which does not require care, which has not flowers, but foliage worthy of becoming a decoration of the garden. The white leaves on the young shoots of this willow turn pale pink in the sun.

Trees in bloom and more
Usually you have to wait too long for trees planted young to show themselves in all their glory, and not every gardener can handle planting large trees. So if you already have large trees in your garden, let them be the basis for creating compositions of shrubs and perennials, because without them it is difficult to achieve a feeling of natural luxury and scope in the most beautiful garden.

From what is worth adding to the garden, not counting beautifully blossoming apple trees, cherry, plum - this is the common bird cherry in its red-leaved form. horse chestnut with candles of flowers and decorative foliage, it is even good in the form of a young tree. Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica), due to its large openwork leaves, growth rate, and excellent winter hardiness, is another candidate for your garden. The red-leaved forms of oak and maple will support the foliage color of purple barberry bushes and the red-brown foliage of Diabolo.

Evergreen garden
Be sure to add to the garden coniferous shrubs and trees. Junipers different forms perfectly connected different plants in a mixo-bender - from just junipers and thujas you can already create decorative garden, playing with the color of the needles (yellow-colored forms of Aurea, white-tipped Albospikata) and the shape of plants. All these plants can be easily found in nurseries: more inexpensive - in the form of very small seedlings and more expensive - at the age of three to five years. What to choose depends only on your budget.

Of course, proper planting of all these plants and the right set of fertilizers in landing pits the required width and depth - will require a lot of effort, but only once. And with the most minimal care in a few years such a garden will sparkle with all its richness of colors. You just need to give him a little freedom.