What does lower maintenance mean?

Now that Mark and I are in our mid-70s, it seems obvious that we need to seriously "reduce maintenance" on our garden. It's a concept that's widely touted, but harder to define. I've had a garden consult with Madison's Jeff Epping, Director of  Horticulture at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. I've Googled the subject and read endless articles on it.

The articles tell you that if you think of all the chores that your garden requires, those are generally what you need to reduce; jobs like watering, weeding, pruning, deadheading, and dividing plants and cutting grass.

Ann Lovejoy, whose garden books were among my first purchases, suggests installing gravel paths instead of grass. That's because gravel paths let water drain and they don’t need the maintenance that grass paths do. But we did that a dozen years ago. We also replaced our concrete driveway with pavers set in sand.

Surrounding trees with plants instead of lawn is another idea. Done.

Grass is one of the highest maintenance plants one can grow; getting rid of it reduces maintenance and helps the environment — which is probably not news to most of you. We've been in the process of saying goodbye to the last grass on our property for a number of years. There's one little bit left that should be gone by the end of next summer. We're mainly replacing it with native sedges.

Jeff suggested adding more ground covers and shrubs in mass plantings the way we've already done in our driveway. Since I have a lot of shade, I have been adding more ferns (native and other), Carexes, Epimediums and Hellebores. I have a list of shrubs I'm hoping to add this year.

Jeff also said that I should only have a couple of special areas for plants that require work. I have been trying to reduce the number of perennial beds, but it's hard to do. I am trying to think in terms of big sweeps of one or two easy plants with a few drama queens mixed in. I'm currently inspired by this area of the Hermannshof Gardens in Germany. (Photo by James Golden)

Perhaps the most helpful concept about lower maintenance I found was this question: 

"Where do you spend the most chore time in the garden, and which part of the garden is the most enjoyable?"

The article pointed out that it is unlikely that these places are the same. It suggested that identifying high maintenance areas should then help us to make good choices about which garden features to alter or eliminate.

They suggested replacing a fast-growing hedge with a fence. We pulled out our dying hedge and put in a fence last year. Another hedge, generally low maintenance, will have dying shrubs pulled out and replaced with new ones this spring. 

If each of these changes is the right one, then it should mean less work and energy will be needed to still have a satisfying garden. Whether I am really moving far enough and fast enough in the right direction remains to be seen. 

Comments

[Kristin]

This is such great information to be thinking about. Our gardens are completely different, but you are always an inspiration to me. When I was looking at catalogs to place my annual and veggie seed orders this month, I put a few perennials on my list because I like them but, by the time I checked out, they were removed, because I am trying to be more thoughtful about my garden, as I see you being. I am very grateful for your detailed research that you generously share with us.

[monica]

I appreciate this post! Am in my early 60's and have already begun to think about changes I should be making to stay long term in my house and still be able to keep my 1/3 acre yard under control with minimal help from others.

[Linda Brazill]

MONICA — My garden is what keeps me going. So it is important to try to figure out how to keep it going; especially as my husband is less interested in grunt work these days. And finding good help is difficult, assuming it is even affordable. ​I still feel like I've only scratched the surface.

[Linda Brazill]

KRISTIN — I am trying to be thoughtful in what I am ordering. Looking for things I am less likely to find locally. Lots of ferns, bushier perennials and some shrubs. I am also trying to figure out before I place an order, where everything can go. Staying away from any more boxwoods and hemlocks in case we get the diseases affecting those plants.

[Kris P]

I think you and Mark have made a lot of smart decisions when it comes to reducing the physical demands of maintaining your garden. While I was sorry to see your pond go, I think your solution there was both brilliant and stylish. In my own garden, introducing more succulents has made the biggest difference. Tree-trimming and and hedge trimming have been outsourced, which works for us. However, I expect I'll be fiddling with plants until I can no longer bend to meet their needs.

[Barbara H.]

Ha ha, good luck with this journey. Like you I am in my 70s and realizing there is a limit to what I can and want to do. I'm definite moving to more shrubs with evergreen ones starting to shout out their value to me. Good luck to both of us!

[Linda Brazill]

KRIS P. — I think we will all be fiddling with plants as long as we can. I have looked at some retirement places and want one that has personal garden plots or some kind of garden I can help with. I love all your succulents and the way you can mass such interesting ones as shown in your recent post. We've found a great local company for tree work. The woman who had helped me for a couple of years is now manager of a nursery. I miss the help of a knowledgeable gardener who could do everything from weed to prune.

[Linda Brazill]

BARBARA — I think luck plays a bigger part in these things than I would prefer!

[Tracy]

What is the lime green weeping tree in the left-hand side of forth photo?

[Linda Brazill]

TRACY - It’s a weeping Beech with yellow foliage.

[hb]

A lot of food for thought and good ideas in this post. Helpful.

I'm sort of taking a backwards approach, focusing on reducing green waste to a minimum. Less green waste when there's less maintenance work.

The lawn has been gone for a long time. Moving to solitary Aloes--essentially no green waste at all. Slow growing native shrubs are another addition. Slow growth = little pruning = little waste.

Plants with foliage that is easily composted. I do compost but because of our dry climate composting is slow and woody branches can take literally years to decompose.

[danger garden]

Of course my path to a lower maintenance garden is obvious. Reduce the number of containers that need to be moved about with the seasons. Someday I am going to have to face that.

[Linda Brazill]

DANGER — That is why my containers are big decorative empty pots or filled with plants that can go in the ground to overwinter. I love container plantings but now I know it's too late to go there!​

[pamilyn]

I am going with containers that can be out over the winter...If I can find them!

[Linda Brazill]

PAMILYN— That's always the issue: Finding what works for you!

[Emily VanLaeys]

We moved to Wisconsin from rural NY two years ago. In our upper 60s, so I said, "no gardening in our new home." Well, the new home had boring weedy lawns with barely a flower in it. "I'll just plant a few," I decided. Then I learned about the native plant movement and decided to join it. After all, now that I'm retired I need a new purpose in life (besides the grandkids we moved here for). So I've been adding more and more plants and shrubs for pollinators. Last spring I injured my hip because I was squatting on the ground so much. Your article reminds me that I was supposed to be doing less, not more. Reducing the lawn does not seem to decrease the work load. The lawn just needs to be mowed whereas the plants need a lot of care. Supposedly native plants are less trouble, but that remains to be seen! I enjoy your posts on Facebook. Thank you for all of your insights!

[Linda Brazill]

EMILY — Lower maintenance is still a confusing issue to me. Luckily I can still do most things, just much more slowly.

I grew up in South Buffalo with a few years in Orchard Park and Rochester before moving to Wisconsin in the 1970s. I didn't garden in those days so I never got to take advantage of the warmer temps.

[Ken Nordlund]

I'm smiling to learn that some of your first garden book purchases were by Ann Lovejoy. Mine, too. I just checked and find three on the shelf.