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By Katherine McLaughlin and Jessica Ilyse Kurn
When it comes to your landscape design and backyard ideas, work smarter, not harder with low-maintenance landscaping. “A traditional American lawn takes tons of maintenance and water and doesn’t really attract any wildlife,” says Camille Cimino, a Los Angeles–based landscape architect at Nature of Things, a firm specializing in low-maintenance, drought-tolerant designs. Luckily, a beautiful landscape design with undeniable curb appeal doesn’t have to be synonymous with hours of backbreaking lawn care and upkeep.
“I create spaces that are low-water and low-maintenance,” Cimino says. “But also lush, diverse, and seasonally stacked to have different things blooming around the perimeter all year long.” You really can have it all. If you’re planning to revamp your yard anytime soon, know that with a little planning and preparation, you can ditch the mowing, weeding, and watering and thrive in a hassle-free outdoor living space.
When it comes to creating low-maintenance landscaping, it’s important to consider what aspects of your yard actually require maintenance before you get too involved with front yard landscaping ideas. Minimizing the lawn is always smart, since mowing can take a lot of time and effort. “Gravel or mulch is great for cutting down on yard work and creating a space to spend time in,” Cimino says. If you go this route it’s important to still consider ways to keep greenery to the yard. You could introduce more hardscaping elements, like a larger driveway, a concrete patio, or walkways that decrease the amount of lawn space.
Blythe Yost, a landscape architect in Pearl River, New York, and cofounder of Tilly, an online landscape design company, says the easiest way to have low-maintenance landscaping is to use plantings that thrive in your region. “These can often be natives—which we encourage—but also plants that require less care,” she says. For example, if you have a sunny yard and plant perennial flowers that prefer shade, they’ll need more water sprinklers and require more upkeep to stay alive in your yard.
“I consider the greatest maintenance task to be weeding,” Yost says, noting that a low-maintenance garden would be one that eliminates weeds as much as possible. To do this, she recommends planting plenty of flowers in garden beds, so the weeds don’t have any room to grow. “Beds should be full of plants with little mulch visible in between,” she says. Keep this in mind as you’re figuring out how to plant grass seed in the fall and spring.
Cimino specializes in creating meadows, also known as tapestry lawns, in front yards, which she believes is one of, if not the best way, to create a low-maintenance garden. “A meadow is essentially the opposite approach to a field of grass,” she says. It involves native plants, wildflowers, and different grasses. “It does not need to be heavily watered, because a lot of the grasses and wildflowers are selected to harmonize with the surrounding climate and its natural rainfall levels,” she adds.
The simplest way to start a low-maintenance garden is to only include elements that will be easy to care for and use little water. Start by thinking about your lawn: Will you opt for gravel or mulch in place of a carpet-like turf? Should you add hardscape elements, like these retaining wall ideas, that don’t require extra cutting or pruning?
Once you’ve made a game plan, research low-maintenance and native plants that grow well in your area. As you narrow down the list to hassle-free contenders, dig deeper by researching if specific plants are particularly well-suited for your region and your existing landscaping. This step will make the growing season practically maintenance-free.
Cimino suggests thinking about your yard like an amphitheater. “Create a ‘stack’ of plants that are tall in the back, then medium, with short plants in the front,” she explains. You want to pay close attention to textures and colors, as the right assortment and balance of those two elements will add visual interest to the landscape design.
“Simplicity is one of my favorite landscape strategies, as it’s underutilized but can be extremely effective,” Yost adds. For a sophisticated look that requires minimal effort, she recommends creating masses out of pared-down complementary plantings. “For example, layering boxwood with ornamental grasses will offer evergreen and structure, while there is whimsy and movement from the grasses,” she says.
The great thing about low-maintenance landscaping is that it can be low-impact on your wallet too. There are many ways to create the look you want on the cheap, and perhaps even for free! Score free plants by joining local gardening groups either in person or online through a platform like Facebook or Nextdoor. It is not uncommon for gardeners to end up with a surplus of plants, particularly after they thin out their overgrown perennials to keep their gardens healthy. Look out for these types of posts in early spring and fall when gardeners start splitting vegetation. Additionally, plant swaps have become a great way for home gardeners to add variety on the cheap.
Utilizing large grasses and adding in ground cover plants, will also keep your landscaping budget low. These plants take up space, expanding to fill in garden holes. In essence, doing some of the work for you!
Below, browse 19 low-maintenance landscaping ideas—from ornamental grasses to container gardens—to gather inspiration for your yard.
Native plants give the yard a sense of place and require less water to boot.
Native plants have developed a symbiotic relationship with the wildlife in a specific environment for thousands of years. When grown in the appropriate habitat, they tend to require less work and less water. As an added bonus, they’ll naturally attract wildlife and pollinators too. A quick search via a web browser (type in your city or county + “native plants”) will yield results for the most popular native plants in your area as well as the nurseries that carry them.
Billowy ornamental grasses cushion the streamlined concrete paths.
“I love bunch grasses,” Cimino says. “They’re easy to take care of, and they bring movement into the garden as they blow in the breeze.” For one front yard, she incorporated Carex pansa grass, which is a go-to in many of her projects. It acts as a lawn replacement and can be mowed if desired, but only needs to be watered about twice a month.
Ground cover plants are lovely and relatively low maintenance.
Ditch your lawn mower and opt for ground-cover plants. “Lawns are usually the highest maintenance because they need consistent watering, fertilizing, weeding, and regular mowing,” agrees Cimino. Not only is ground cover downright beautiful, but these plants also help prevent weeds and erosion by covering any bare spots in the soil. Once planted, ground cover spreads to create a carpet of vegetation and fills in gaps, which means less work for you in the long run. Some examples of great ground cover include:
Succulents and gravel are a low-maintenance match made in heaven.
Cimino often incorporates succulents, which require significantly less maintenance compared to other plants, but still offer a vibrant pop of green. Succulents also give your landscaping a sculptural quality that you can’t get with regular grass lawn.
Pack your plant beds as tightly as possible to escape the weeding grind while enjoying pretty flowers, Yost recommends. “Although not a foolproof method, it will reduce the frequency of both weeding and mulching,” she says. Bonus: DIY garden beds give your landscaping a colorful jolt with less work.
This frontyard is by Designer Maestri Studio. The photo features Leopard plant in the garden beds, which is an "evergreen, clump-forming perennial."
Another way to keep your garden maintenance low-key is to plant perennial flowers and plants. These plants will last longer than two years, although their lifespans can be much greater than that. With perennials, you only have to plant them once (that’s less work in itself), and they come back year after year. Popular perennials include daisies, hostas, and hibiscus.
Reduce your yard work by planting perennials that will come back each spring.
If you’re a couple years down the line on your low-maintenance garden, it may be time to start splitting your perennials. Dividing perennials is a simple way to add additional low-maintenance plants into your landscaping while also keeping them happy and healthy (and you’ll have plants to swap with your neighbors). Experts at the University of Minnesota Extension suggest splitting perennials every few years to give the roots more space to grow, lessen competition for nutrients and water, and most especially to produce more blooms.
Splitting plants is fairly easy: First, dig up your entire plant, pull apart the roots gently, and then cut them into multiple pieces with a sharp tool. Lastly, replant your free, low-maintenance plants throughout your garden. Don’t forget to water them once in the ground. Separate perennials on a cloudy day when the sun won’t scorch the exposed roots; and it’s best to wait a day or two after the plants have been watered. For more information check your local extension, like the University of Minnesota Extension or PennState Extension.
Agaves are ideal for a hands-off yard.
“We used soft agaves and hard agaves of different sizes to make the landscape look more natural,” Cimino says of this yard she designed. Flora like agaves, aloes, and Phormium tenax don’t require pruning and are high on Cimino’s recommendation list when it comes to low-maintenance plants.
Charming cottage gardens are know for disheveled whimsy.
“I would probably consider a cottage garden as the most low-maintenance, as it’s the most forgiving,” Yost says. This type of garden is generally more informal and makes use of relaxed borders, dense plantings, and native plants. “Cottage gardens are more about whimsical flowers and winding paths without the formality and structure of a formal garden that will require frequent pruning,” Yost adds.
Many evergreen trees and bushes are extremely tolerant to different weather and growing conditions. Not only is their durability commendable, but they won’t require hours of leaf raking in the fall the way deciduous trees like oaks and maples do.
Get your pots in a row: a perfect solution, if you want to change up plants in a transitional backyard.
Container gardens can be ideal for yards with limited space, but they can also be smart options for those trying to create less work for themselves. Using pots lets you add color and life to a space, but doesn’t require building garden beds or digging up plots of soil. It also means that you can include plants on patios or gravel in lieu of a water-demanding lawn.
No water, no problem: Xeriscape with cacti and rocks.
Xeriscaping is a practice in landscape design that aims to create spaces that limit or eliminate the need for irrigation completely. Plants that are drought-tolerant are always a good choice in xeriscaping. Keep in mind that, if you’re xeriscaping, you need to account for natural water resources and include hardscaping designs that can promote water movement to certain areas of the yard.
Mulch doesn't have to mean a boring lawn.
In this Cimino-designed yard, the lawn is completely eliminated in favor of mulch. The space also features ferns and a hammock tied to a citrus tree. “It’s just proof that you can make an attractive and inviting place to spend time that does not involve a lawn,” Cimino says.
Pebbles and gravel echo a satisfying crunch underfoot.
Consider using gravel in place of grassy turf, especially if you’re in a drought-prone Southwest region. Add a few flower beds or low-maintenance shrubs for extra greenery to enliven the backyard space with color and vegetation.
Smooth concrete pavers break up the monotony of an all-grass lawn.
Concrete pavers are a bit like outdoor tiles and a popular flooring option for patios, walkways, or driveways. Leaving grass as an accent along the pavers reduces the amount of lawn you have to maintain without completely eliminating green spaces.
A natural pond makes a splash in any backyard.
Natural ponds use plants and other biological agents to naturally clean and maintain the pool. Once installed, they’re extremely low-maintenance, though they can take longer to build and be more costly, compared to other pools.
Is this grass real, or not? If you can’t tell, we won’t either.
If you’re not quite ready to ditch your lawn, but also not eager to pull out the lawnmower every week, artificial grass may be an appropriate option. These days, retailers have perfected the synthetic lawn with fluffy grass mats that look pretty realistic.
A set sprinkler system ensures your lawn won’t dry out.
An automated sprinkler system is another way to cut back on your lawn care. If you’re tending full-sun flowers that could require more water when days get too hot, a timed sprinkler system could be just the solution, if you’re not looking to sweat while holding a water hose.
Add furniture, fountains, or feeders to add a little variety to your garden. No mowing needed!
Add a little variety, creativity, and texture to your landscaping by incorporating nonliving elements like sculptures and fountains. Not only can features like these be practical, but they also elevate your yard: A bench is inviting, art is beautiful, a nectar feeder attracts hummingbirds, and a birdbath will provide water for other pollinators.
By Alia How Are You
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