Mowing, hoeing, weeding, watering and fertilizing – a garden can keep you busy.
If it, which should actually be a place of relaxation, rest and wonder, takes up more and more space on the everyday to-do list or the work simply becomes too physically demanding, it may be time to think about your own four fences.
Photo: Syl Gervais
For me, gardening (can we agree on "gardening"?) is one of the most wonderful things there is. Because gardening is wonderful, relaxing and fulfilling, but only because I can enjoy my little paradise just as often. From my deck chair.
Even though I keep seeing doubtful and disbelieving faces, the work in my garden is actually limited.
So that you don't just have to work hard for your private piece of greenery, but can also enjoy the special moments of the day - coffee in the morning sun, lunch break under the fruit tree, sundowner in the hammock - I have put together a few tips for designing an easy-care garden.
1. Stop mowing the lawn
I stick to this: A well-maintained lawn is more work than a flowering perennial bed. Why? You only have to mow it a couple of times a year? Unfortunately, that is a misconception. In order for a lawn - and I mean a real lawn, not a mossy meadow with the occasional tuft of grass - to become strong, thick and even, it needs a lot of care. That means weekly mowing, regular scarification and constant fertilizing, removing moss and repairing.
Things are much more relaxed with a wildflower meadow. Once sown, you can sit back and relax until mid-July - you can't mow before then. Only when the flowers have formed seeds can they spread by mowing.
2. Nothing beats perennials
Most perennials remain faithful for a long time. After flowering, they gradually die back in the autumn and sprout again every spring. The amount of work is therefore manageable: cut off the withered shoots in late autumn (or even better in early spring).
Catnip, Cranesbill Appleblossom, Lady's Mantle and Phlox Bill Baker.
All very uncomplicated. Especially in partial shade.
Perennials grow larger over time and the bed becomes denser on its own. When planting, make sure you keep the necessary distance (this is usually stated on the label). If the gaps in the bed are too big at first, you can plant annuals between them.
Wonderful, uncomplicated and grateful perennials include:
catnip
autumn anemones
cranesbill
stonecrop
lady's mantle
3. Choose the right varieties
Choose plants that are easy to care for and hardy. Avoid those that need a lot of water and nutrient-rich soil, for example. If the summers remain as hot as they have been in recent years, look for drought-resistant varieties. And if you choose flowers that do not have a high nutrient requirement, then you don't need to fertilize them. Plants that need winter protection in the fall are also better not to.
4. Native plants
They are well acquainted with the weather and soil conditions in our latitudes and are therefore much more robust and easier to care for than flowers and shrubs from more southern regions. In order for the latter to thrive here, a much greater effort is required.
The Radiant Broadleaf – beautiful and unfortunately endangered.
5. Location, Location, Location
Don't even try to grow hydrangeas on the south side in the blazing sun or delphiniums in shady spots. That won't work. To each his own: in the right location, depending on the plant, sunny, shady or semi-shady, with or without a draft, in loamy or sandy soil. Plants thrive best under the optimal conditions. You save yourself work (e.g. constant watering) and, above all, frustration. Just take a look over the garden fence and see what's growing well there? If a plant feels comfortable at your neighbor's, there's a good chance it will also be happy to settle in yours.
6. Roses galore
Especially wild and rambling roses, which don't even need to be pruned. Roses have deep roots. Once they've established themselves, they can supply themselves with water. Regular watering is therefore not necessary, in fact it's counterproductive. This makes the rose lazy and you train it to form its roots at the top, where the water comes regularly. Of course, this doesn't apply to the first few weeks after planting. Look for robust roses - one indication would be the ADR award or even historic roses, which are usually healthier.
Photo: Janina Laszlo
Roses are happy to be fertilized in the spring, but I would also avoid this in the first two years. Pruning encourages flowering - for me this activity heralds the start of spring. But as already mentioned, if you simply choose wild or rambling roses, you can save yourself the trouble. If you feel like it, cut off any wilted parts of varieties that bloom more often, then they will bloom more luxuriantly the second time. But here too - if I don't have the time or inclination, then I just don't do it. The rose certainly won't hold it against me.
7. Weeds – the eternal suffering of the gardener
Here, too, you can make your life easier: with ground cover. Small perennials such as woodruff, ginger cranesbill, carpet knotweed, periwinkle, succulent (so sweet. The. Name.), woolly yarrow or ivy quickly form a closed plant cover and give weeds no chance. Or ground-covering roses such as Sternenflor or Mirato are absolutely suitable.
I have wild strawberries all over my beds. Delicious. And I plant them relatively closely. Do you have grass clippings or leaves? Spread them thinly over your beds. This keeps the moisture in and suppresses the growth of weeds. And also releases important nutrients. Mulching is an important aspect of a low-maintenance garden. Then you have to water much less (actually "mulching" deserves its own point... then there would be 12 tips!)
8. Buchs – very bad times
I have a lot of boxwood in the garden. It would actually be perfect. It looks beautiful, it gives structure to the ordered chaos, it is green even in winter and it frames my flowerbeds. I like it a lot, but unfortunately the box tree moth is infesting the cottage garden. I am constantly collecting it, spraying algae lime and Bacillus thuringiensis. And I do this several times a season. It's a lot of work at the moment and no fun at all.
9. Leaves – just a nuisance?
No, it can also be useful. It should be removed from lawns in autumn so that the lovingly tended (and hard-working) lawn can breathe and get light. You can safely leave it on the beds; leaves are good protection against the cold and are also a natural fertilizer. Even in spring I leave some of the leaves on the beds, I just make sure that the first small leaves of the perennials are exposed. I usually pour a little fresh soil on the beds, then it looks nice until the green of the plants covers everything. And that brings us back to the topic of "mulching".
10. Avoid pots
Plants in pots are work. These poor creatures simply have no chance of looking after themselves. They are completely dependent on us, have to be watered (even twice on hot days) and fed. Of course I have pots too - and I love them. But they also keep me busy...
11. The Cottage Garden
A cottage garden is not so strict about borders, straight lines and generally meticulous order. Small outliers like a Spanish daisy that spreads itself and likes to appear at the edge of the path or the horned violet between the paving joints are very welcome. Make use of the motto of orderly disorder and rely on lush and diverse growth. If there is a plant in between that was not originally planned there or its offspring suddenly appear somewhere else - enjoy it. And the new picture that emerges in your garden every year.
And at some point I understood something. And internalized it.
“A garden is never finished.”
This sentence seems liberating somehow. For me, at least.
So, stretch out on all fours, let the sun shine on your belly, happily dig in the soil with your bare hands and simply enjoy your garden.
In any case, he's doing well.