Creating a beautiful, maintenance-free garden. Unpretentious flowers

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Creating a beautiful, maintenance-free garden. Unpretentious flowers - a garden without hassle

The pace of our lives often leaves city dwellers with neither the time nor the energy to actively take care of their garden; caring for it is increasingly becoming the lot of the older generation. How to make the garden pleasing to the eye, but not turn into a place of hard and endless labor?

Forest romance

If you are the owner forest plot, consider yourself very lucky. If only because there is somewhere to tie a hammock.

But seriously, such a natural garden requires practically no effort - nature will do everything itself if we do not interfere. Do not try to plant a vegetable garden here, plant apple trees and roses, dig a pond or pave paths. Need to in maximum degree preserve the natural, scientifically speaking, biocenosis, or ecosystem - do not collect fallen pine needles, do not mow down “weeds”, which in fact are just wild herbs. Don’t try to fight the “aliens”, but let them grow. Meadow grasses, geraniums, lupins, daisies and bluebells will delight you with their artless beauty.

It is only permissible to supplement the species composition, and then unobtrusively, by planting plants that are appropriate in such a garden - viburnum, elderberry, hawthorn, rowan or bird cherry.

Any attempts to make a lawn here will lead to nothing - grass will not grow in the shade. It is better to add ground cover to the garden shade-tolerant plants: pachysandra, various varieties of mountain weed and damselfish, creeping tenacious, ivy-leaved budra.

Over time, they will cover the ground with elegant carpets that do not require any maintenance.

It is also a good idea to enrich the composition of the flora of your site by planting lilies of the valley here. Various ferns would be appropriate. A textured plant with huge leaves, like butterbur, also looks great.

Petiolate hydrangea will feel good next to a tall pine or oak tree. This liana, blooming with a waterfall of white inflorescences, over the years can rise to a height of 6 - 8 m.

If you are not lazy and have the means, buy enough bulbs of galanthus (snowdrops), crocuses, scylla and daffodils (only small-flowered ones or the most classic, poetic ones; the latest selections will be inappropriate). In the fall, scatter them randomly in open, sunny places and bury them where they fell. AND long years In the spring, your garden will be colored with clumps of these primroses. At the same time, they do not need to be dug up; they will grow year after year. In summer, the leaves will die off on their own, without requiring any additional effort from you.

Garden from scratch

It’s another matter if your site is like Blank sheet paper. In this case, creating a “garden for the lazy” will require compliance with some strict rules.

And God forbid you plant dahlias, gladioli and tulips here. They require annual digging, disinfection, drying and storage. If gladioli bulbs can still be put in the refrigerator, then what should we do with dahlias? It goes without saying that you don't need to bother with annual plants, even if you bought ready-made seedlings. Eternal headache with watering will cool your ardor. They are also blacklisted hanging baskets with petunias and all kinds of containers - they dry out quickly. Not to mention the fact that you won’t be able to leave them during your vacation. Unless the neighbors agree to water.

To really relax in your garden, you need to abandon the usual model: vegetable garden - orchard- flower beds

No matter how much you would like to treat yourself to a raspberry or strawberry for your morning tea, you should also abandon this idea. If raspberries are a rather labor-intensive crop, then strawberries are extremely labor-intensive: several times a season they grow tendrils that need to be trimmed; you will also need to place litter under the ripening berries, fertilize the plantings and add compost so that they do not freeze in the winter. You'll be tortured!

Or a relaxation garden or vegetable garden...

If you do not need to solve the food problem on the scale of one family, also abandon the idea of a vegetable garden and greenhouse.

Having a vegetable garden is a big hassle; not only does it have to be watered and weeded. You also need to pull up the carrots and beets, and hill up the potatoes two or three times during the summer. And every now and then the onion is attacked by the hated onion fly. The radishes are gone long before you have time to eat them.

If you hesitate a little with harvesting, take the garlic and break it into cloves, which immediately begin to grow. And the countless number of cucumbers that grow at a frantic pace just when you are at work, and by the weekend they turn yellow and reach gigantic size?! The zucchini has to be distributed to neighbors (was it worth the effort for this?). Where to put bags of potatoes if there is no storage space in a city apartment?

With a greenhouse, life becomes even more difficult.

Well, if this is not possible, that is not possible, then what is possible, you ask? In order to fully enjoy your garden and at the same time practically not bother yourself, you need to abandon the usual model: vegetable garden - orchard - flower beds. It is in this sequence that the system of priorities has been formed since the time when personal plot was called upon to provide food for the family. Now everything is different, for homo sapiens, who works and earns money, everything is available in stores and supermarkets.

Garden rules for the lazy

Remember, its basis should be different kinds shrubs and conifers that require virtually no maintenance. The range that garden centers offer us allows us to easily create a dream garden, which will be beautiful and cozy. And at any time of the year - if you properly organize the shrub mixborder.

Shrubs, based on labor costs, can be divided into two categories: those that are, as they say, “planted and forgotten” (chokeberry, elderberry, dogwood, bladderwort, barberry, snowberry, Tatarian honeysuckle, pentapetal), and those that still require, albeit the most minimal, care in the form of pruning faded inflorescences (lilac, mock orange, various types of spirea, hydrangeas).

And you certainly shouldn’t burden yourself with planting privet, cotoneaster, and hawthorns, which require strong formative pruning.

When planning plantings, consider creating green rooms in the garden in which you can create secluded places to relax by installing a swing or a bench. It is appropriate to plant here. The same applies to children's playgrounds. Select shrubs by color to

They were combined with each other, plant them in several tiers, creating colorful compositions that are decorative throughout the season.

Cons of a lawn and advantages of paving for a low-maintenance garden

As for the lawn, its creation requires considerable effort. For busy people best option- order and lay rolled lawn. But keep in mind, you still have to take care of it. The idyllic picture from lawn mower advertisements is not always confirmed by life.

You have to cut it every week, especially in rainy summers when the grass grows back very quickly. The lawn mower cord constantly gets tangled and tends to get under the blades. The site is full of places where you can’t get to with the machine, you have to crawl on your knees with scissors. And in order for the lawn to have a neat appearance, its edges must certainly be trimmed with a special spatula. And do this more than once.

remember, that main enemy lawns - this is a dandelion.

Even if he is mowed down, like the Serpent Gorynych, he grows two or three new heads. Therefore, before the dandelions release their white parachutes, they must be dug out with a special shovel. Are you ready for all this?

Where is the way out?

Well, first of all, paving. You should pave as many places as possible that are subject to trampling (sports and children's playgrounds, car parking and barbecue areas, areas where swings are installed, etc.). Also, do not skimp on tiles on the paths - remember that everything that is not paved will be an arena for weed control. Secondly, you can resort to filling with gravel those places where hands cannot reach - in the economic zone, for example, around barns and other small buildings.

You don’t have to bother with a real lawn, just regularly mow everything that has grown on your site with a mower. But there is a danger that as soon as the intensity of the struggle decreases (for example, when you go on vacation), your area will turn into pampas.

As an alternative to a real lawn, I can suggest a clover lawn. A good way out is to sow everything with white clover. It is not tall, creates a dense turf, does not get trampled, fertilizes itself with nitrogen, and is not afraid of frost and rain. Pink clover is not suitable for these purposes; it is much taller, which is why it often lies down.

Now, instead of being upset when you see white clover bushes in your model lawn, rejoice and continue to cultivate this beautiful plant.

Dreaming of roses

We are looking for a compromise

Special talk about hydrangeas. Tree hydrangea and paniculata are absolutely irreplaceable plants for those who do not want to work hard, but crave beauty. They are ideally suited for acidic soils, tolerate partial shade, do not get sick, and only delight their owners with lush flowering from mid-summer, remaining decorative until frost.

Modern selection offers a wide selection of these plants. There are so many varieties - tall, medium-sized, low, with dense or openwork inflorescences, white, creamy, Pink colour, up to dark burgundy. They can be planted either as a tapeworm in a visible place, or included in a shrub mixborder. They are especially beautiful against the background of lilacs, next to white-edged derains or dark cherry vesicles. They also look great with conifers.

As for numerous perennial plants, a certain compromise is possible here between the reluctance to strain and the desire to at least plant something.

The best choice to complement a mixborder - in our case, as you remember, a shrubby one - would be daylilies, hostas and astilbes. These plants are quite unpretentious, do not require frequent division, do not get sick, and become more and more beautiful from year to year. Especially the hosts. But you should not plant them in the open sun; you need to find a place where they will be comfortable.

But what about the plants that you have loved since childhood, from the holidays spent at your grandmother’s dacha? This refers to peonies and phlox. Some compromise is needed here. These crops require significant effort and time. But if you can't imagine June without lush flowering peonies, and August is without the intoxicating aroma of phlox, then the answer is clear - be sure to plant, but keep in mind that you will have to work hard!

These are in general outline rules for building a low-maintenance garden in which you don’t have to strain. But I want to warn you that one fine day you may wake up thinking that it would be nice to sow dill. This will only mean one thing - you have caught the virus. The so-called gardener virus. But this disease cannot be cured, but only progresses. It may happen that soon after this you will join the ranks of garden center visitors and plant collectors. And in the end you will start a large-scale reconstruction of your once low maintenance garden.

Note: Expert advice
Mulching will save you from constant weeding. This applies mainly to flower beds. It is very effective to cover everything with chopped tree bark - no weeds will be able to break through it. To make mulch, the farm must have a garden shredder, which is used to crush branches. (But this is already work!) For the especially busy and lazy, there is nothing else to do but buy mulch at garden centers.

Flowers for beginner gardeners

With an abundance of plant species and varieties, beginning gardeners often make the wrong choice based on “aesthetics” and without taking into account the difficulties of growing certain crops. I am convinced that we need to move here from simple to complex. And you should start with plants, which are extremely unpretentious and undemanding in these matters. Otherwise, you will no longer want to waste your energy on creating flower beds, caring for which will leave no time to admire them.

Bulb crops

Let's start, perhaps, with bulbous crops, which are the first to greet spring.

Botanical tulips– unpretentious graceful plants, they not only come in many colors, but are also very easy to care for. They do not need to be dug up every year; at the same time, every year the nests grow more and more and bloom more luxuriantly. In addition, they are disease resistant. Look great in rock gardens and alpine slides.

Iris reticulum (iridodictium)– miniature plants reminiscent of iris will undoubtedly decorate your garden. Winter-hardy, can withstand light shade. They can grow in one place for up to 5 years without transplanting. IN spring garden they are one of the first to bloom.

Muscari– the bright blue inflorescences of this small-bulbous plant will very quickly grow into a “blue sky” on your site in one season. Overwinter without shelter special care not required. Prefer organic fertilizers, and it is better not to add minerals.

Perennials

From perennial beautiful flowering plants I would like to note the following cultures.

Periwinkle– its varieties are characterized by rapid growth; these plants are used for shady corners of the garden. Long shoots take root quickly; if desired, you can easily propagate by cuttings. But you need to make sure that the periwinkle does not occupy too large spaces, otherwise it will be difficult to restrain its growth in the future.

Astilbe- it's unusual flowering plant brings its own flavor to the flower garden and demonstrates how multifaceted beauty can be. Even the leaves of astilbe have an elegant openwork shape. The main thing in care is regular watering, but otherwise it is not demanding. She has already adapted to the frosts of winter, but spring frosts can be destructive for her, so it is better to cover the bushes double layer spruce branches for this period.

Perennial cornflower- This is a plant that practically does not need to be looked after, because in nature it is a weed. There is no need to water it, as it prefers dry soils, and summer rains are enough to replenish moisture reserves. It does not like transplantation, so the seeds should be sown once and for all in one place.

Doronicum– when selecting our unpretentious plants, we probably already mentioned all the colors, but we have never had such a yellow beauty as Doronicum. The color of the sun and the color of life are guaranteed to your flower garden with this plant. Root system It is capable of storing water, so you need to water it very carefully. If the winter is snowy, then the plant feels good without shelter. It can live in one place for quite a long time, but it will be better if the curtains are rejuvenated every 3-4 years by planting them in other places in the flower garden.

Of course, this is not a complete list of unpretentious crops for the garden, but for a beginning gardener, I think it is quite enough.

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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 purchasing flower seeds, pay attention to information on growing conditions, and not just beautiful picture and never buy different mixtures of colors.

Perennial unpretentious flowers:

Among perennials, you need to choose drought-resistant ones that do not require regular watering plants. 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 with limited time, you can keep your garden beautiful so that on rare visits you can enjoy the next bloom of various flowers. Undoubtedly, minimal care Unpretentious plants also need it. 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 weeds 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.

Basic principles of a low-maintenance garden

As experience shows, organize the territory suburban area and starting a garden is not that difficult. However, subsequent care for it often turns out to be an overwhelming task. How to make the site pleasing to the eye, but not turn into a place of hard labor?

It is clear that a “minimum care garden” does not at all mean the absence of owners on the site. Without systematic work, any, even the tiniest, piece of land will quickly turn into a real breeding ground for weeds and pests. Nevertheless, labor costs on the site should be rational - such as to free up additional time for rest and other easy activities.

Berry from the bush

If you want to relax at the dacha, then you should not plant fruit trees and shrubs. It is better to avoid raspberries and strawberries right away.

Caring for raspberries is not a pleasant task, but strawberries are an extremely labor-intensive crop. Regular pruning mustache and fertilizing - this is the least that a gardener will have to deal with. Trees require less hassle, but they will also have to be regularly protected from pests and ensure that the crown does not thicken.

In addition, the harvest that these crops will produce will need to not only be collected in a timely manner, but also processed. This means that you will have to sort and wash the berries, cut the fruits and stand at the stove all day and evenings to prepare preserves and jams. And here, you see, there’s no time for rest at all.

On a note
If you have firmly decided to start a small orchard, then the basis of the assortment should be varieties adapted to growing in a given area. If you really want to pick a southern apple at your dacha, then it is better to graft a cutting of this variety into the crown of an ordinary “Antonovka”.

Less is more

The basis of the garden should be practically maintenance-free decorative foliage trees and shrubs, as well as conifers. But they are also not the same in terms of labor costs.

Thus, caring for a birch tree will be somewhat more difficult than caring for a chestnut tree, due to the difficulty of cleaning up the numerous falling leaves, drying out twigs and winged seeds. Shrubs such as elderberry, derens, bladderworts, barberries, snowberry, and Tatarian honeysuckle do not require any care at all.

On lilac, mock orange, spirea and hydrangea, you will need to periodically remove faded inflorescences and carry out anti-aging pruning. Privet, cotoneaster and hawthorn will be included in the black list - these shrubs require strong formative pruning.

Always beautiful

Those who do not want to work hard, but dream of beauty in their plot, should turn their attention to tree hydrangea and M. paniculata. They easily tolerate partial shade,
They don’t get sick with anything, but delight their owners with lush flowering from mid-summer, maintaining their decorative effect until the very frost.

Today the choice of hydrangeas is very large.

Varieties vary in height, shape and density of inflorescences, surprising with a variety of colors and shades - from white, creamy cream and pink to dark burgundy. The bushes look great both in solitaire and group planting, for example in a mixborder next to lilacs, white-edged derains or dark cherry vesicles.

Which plants require less care?

The ranking of plants from least to most demanding care (from top to bottom) is as follows:

Coniferous trees
Lianas that do not require shelter for the winter
Decorative deciduous trees, bushes
Free growing hedges
Trimmed hedges
Fruit and berry crops (except raspberries and garden strawberries)
Perennial flowers and annuals that do not require annual digging
Perennial flowers that require annual digging and grow aggressively
Vegetables
Ground lawn
Garden strawberries and raspberries
Alpine slide and semi-aquatic plants
Plants in pots and hanging containers outdoors
Greenhouse and greenhouse plants

What's blooming in your garden?

No matter how much we dream of a garden that does not require our participation, without a flower garden we still cannot make do. If you do not want to bother with seedlings and constant watering, then it is better to refuse annuals, giving preference perennial plants. But their choice will need to be approached with special attention.

Candidates for the blacklist are tulips, dahlias and gladioli.

They need to be dug up annually, dried and carefully stored. Roses also don’t fit well with the concept of “minimal care.” The queen of the garden responds with lush blooms only to tender care. Phloxes and peonies, beloved by everyone since childhood, require significant effort and time.

All kinds of containers and hanging baskets will add a lot of problems. Plants in them dry out quickly and need systematic watering. Who will take care of them during your vacation?

Reasonable compromise

So what remains? Arrange a wide mixborder along a well-lit fence and feel free to include ornamental shrubs. An ideal addition to them would be daylilies, hosts and astilbes.

These plants are quite unpretentious, do not require frequent division, do not get sick and grow prettier year after year. The hosts will be especially pleased. But we need to find a place where they will feel comfortable. However, if you can’t imagine a garden without lush blooming peonies or the intoxicating aroma of roses, be sure to plant them.

At the end of the day, what counts as bereavement and what doesn’t is up to you to decide. As for vertical gardening, virgin grapes or honeysuckle honeysuckle would be a reasonable replacement for tender clematis. They will no less effectively decorate the wall of a house, gazebo, veranda or pergola, but will not require so much work.

Our advice
If you decide to plant conifers, then choose those species that do not burn in winter and do not need shading from bright spring sun. These will mainly be junipers with a bonfire-shaped crown, which overwinter under the snow, and thujas (the latter will have to be tied up for the winter).

Lawn without hassle

The lawn is not a pleasure for the lazy.

Properly preparing the soil for a lawn requires a lot of time, effort and patience. But in the future, the lawn will require systematic care. You will have to cut it every week, especially in rainy summers when the grass grows back very quickly.

And you will also have to constantly fight with dandelions - no matter how much you mow them, they grow back again and again. In general, you should think carefully about whether you need this headache? An alternative would be a clover lawn. Only you need to sow not pink clover, but white. It is not tall, does not lie down, creates a dense turf, does not get trampled and winters well.

Less weeding!

Weeding is a real scourge of any summer resident. To reduce the intensity of your weed battle, don't leave bare soil in your flower beds.

Mulch the areas between the plants with shredded tree bark - no weeds will break through such a thick “blanket”. You can buy ready-made mulch at a garden center, but for large volumes it will be expensive.

To make bedding with your own hands on the farm, you will need a garden shredder, which is used to crush branches. Instead of mulch, you can add it to the flower garden ground cover plants. Over time, they will cover the free areas with elegant carpets that require virtually no maintenance.

How to reduce labor costs and time for garden care - tips

Select adapted species and varieties that do not require care
Provide plants with the right conditions for them
Carry out maintenance activities in a timely manner
Do not clutter the lawn with benches, stones, plants so that there are no obstacles for the lawn mower
Lay a dividing strip of paving between the lawn and flower beds
Mulch all free areas of land
Pave part of the area: the more paving, the less maintenance
On slopes near the steps, lay gentle ramps for the passage of wheelbarrows and lawn mowers. Take care of plants in the morning or evening.
Avoid random and temporary plantings
Combine various operations: digging - with the application of fertilizers, spraying - with foliar feeding

You can also read interesting articles about low-maintenance gardening

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