How To Create A Minimally Landscaped Yard
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Are you low on time, space and effort? Build your yard and ditch the clutter. Many of us who are fortunate to live close to the city also have the challenge of not having the yard of our dreams. We have space, but not enough. We are short on available time, effort and don't like using so much water. Even with today's obstacles, there are plenty of options to create a pleasing and relaxing yard without some of the headaches of complex landscaping.
Here are a few ideas for your new beautiful, minimally landscaped garden. Remember, less is more, and color and texture are everything.
1. Grasses: Unfortunately, the world didn’t evolve to have green, plushy sod everywhere. In some places, it’s irresponsible to force a lawn to stay green all year. As recently stated, less is more. You may not want to settle for zero sod, or your pets simply must have their spot outside. Consider outlining your yard with grasses, or fill in blank spaces, but make certain to be creative! There are dozens of perennial fountain grasses that will provide texture for months.
2. Flowers: Go as native as possible. We all love the vibrancy of geraniums mid spring, or how your recently planted petunias spread and spill with color. However, these plants will die, they have to be deadheaded continually, and will have to be replaced every year. There are wonderful options that give you pops of color, with texture, and a nice little spot for your local pollinators to come hang out. Look for sunflowers, daisies, bee bushes, coreopsis, or if you want some color for fall, throw in some mums and asters.
3. Use water-smart plants: Here’s where you can go crazy! Depending on where you live, you can fill in spaces with cacti, yucca, agaves, sedum. Best of all, these plants are the gladiators of the plant world, they will take a beating, go without water, be scorched by the sun, or live through a cold winter, and still grow right before your eyes.
4. Dealing with fences: Vines are your friends and there are tons of perennial options that spread, climb, and bring texture and color to your your plain old fence. Also, there are planters that can be hung on your fence for a splash of color.
5. Gravel, pavers, mulch, or simple concrete: These are one of the most important aspects of a minimally landscaped yard. With the exception of mulch, you don’t have to swap them out often. They require a cleaning every once in a while, and come in countless textures, colors, shapes and sizes. It’s the closest you will get to set-and-forget. Many yards across the country have utilized these options where imagination is the only limit.
6. Trees and shrubs: Once these guys are planted and rooted, they will last for decades. Again, here is where you can go nuts. You can have something small, or expansive. You can have fruits or flowers. Want something that will look great into winter? Some small juniper bushes might help. Also, don’t forget your local bees love a good flowering bush. If you feel like you would like to pick up an additional hobby, many people have taken up bonsai for sculpting their favorite bushes and trees into masterpieces.
In a world of endless options, why would you want to work harder? Give yourself something you can love from the first day and all year. Give yourself bold angles, curves, spikes of texture and with any splash of color you can imagine.
Give yourself more with less!
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