The best low maintenance garden border ideas…
Want a beautiful garden, but don’t have the time to spend maintaining it?
Some low-maintenance garden border ideas might be the perfect way to brighten up your garden without taking up too much of your time.
Even if you don’t have tonnes of space, borders add structure to your garden and add a pop of life. There are lots of ways that you can create a border, but we are going to focus on those that are low-maintenance.
In this blog, we’re exploring how to create a beautiful garden border with very little maintenance required.
What is a garden border?
Firstly, let’s figure out what a garden border is in case you are unsure.
A garden border is just any planting area that is longer than it is wide.
They are usually used as landscape dividers to separate sections of a garden. For example, they are often used to separate a lawn from a pathway, or a neighbouring property.
They are a visually stunning way to add structure and outline areas of a garden.
Patio border planting ideas for low-maintenance gardens…
So, let's get how you can introduce some pretty border designs into your garden in a way that is both stunning and low maintenance.
1. Choose the right plants for your garden border…
The first step is to figure out what plants and flowers are going to work in your garden. If you choose plants that go against the natural grain of your garden, then you’ll spend lots of time nurturing them. Not what you want!
If you have little sunlight around your garden border, then you’ll want to plant flowers and shrubs that thrive in the shade. However, if you have lots of sunlight on your garden border then you’ll want to plant flowers and shrubs that will respond well to that.
Plus, you need to make sure that you allow enough space for your chosen plants to grow so that they don’t outgrow their position in the garden border.
Working with what you have, rather than against, will ensure that you can create a low-maintenance border in your garden.
2. Plant a mixture of perennials and shrubs…
The key to creating a low-maintenance border is to reduce the number of types of plants. Of course, some plants are extremely high-maintenance and we recommend staying away from those.
We recommend creating a backbone of evergreen shrubs, alongside a repeating tapestry of perennial plants.
Perennials are your friend when it comes to low maintenance. As long as you put them in the right place they will come back year after year, all you will have to do is give them a quick trim at the end of the flowering season. And repeating perennial flowers are great for balance in a border, and also make maintenance easier.
So, what are some low-maintenance border plant ideas?
These plants and flowers will keep your garden border bursting with life all year round while keeping maintenance low.
3. Wild-flower garden border…
A shrub and perennial border is beautiful and low maintenance, but why not make things a little messy on purpose?
An overly manicured garden is no longer in vogue, now it’s all about giving your garden space back to nature. Creating a garden border full of low-maintenance, wildflowers are not only good for giving you time back but good for the environment.
Wildflowers are great pollinators and promote biodiversity by giving insects and wildlife a place to thrive. It takes something off your to-do list and helps nature. Win, win!
You can let the wildflowers grow free around the entire border, or you can contain them in planters or with edges.
4. Create a garden border edge…
You don’t need to have an edge on your garden border. Essentially the border itself serves as an edge between two sections of your garden, helping to split areas up in an aesthetically pleasing way.
However, an edge adds a hard stop to the garden border. It keeps the border physically separate from the next section and helps to tidy things up.
You can choose different materials for your garden border edge, including
Adding an edge to your border helps to keep it tidy.
What to avoid when creating a low-maintenance garden border…
The last thing you want to do is plant a garden border, and it ends up being majorly high maintenance. So, here are some tips to help you avoid that, and ensure you get a low-maintenance border:
Ready for a low-maintenance garden..
Garden borders are an excellent way to bring some visual complexity to your garden while taking up very little of your time. If you choose the right variations of plants and flowers then borders can be a very low-maintenance and aesthetically pleasing way to design a garden.
There are loads of other ways to create a low-maintenance garden while creating a fully-functional, stunning outdoor living space. You can view our collections here, to see how to design your ideal garden.
