Low Maintenance Garden

nicoladmurphy

We're not green-fingered, AT ALL! And are trying to design the lowest maintenance garden while still giving something back to the environment. I've a couple of questions that I'd love some advice on:

1. Should I go with tarmac with brick trim or concrete with brick trim for the section where our cars will park?
2. What kind of low-maintenance shrubs would be best to plant that won't grow too high but will still attract the birds and bees?

I can't stress enough how little we know about gardens and how little we do with what we have!! All advice appreciated.

Jim_Hodge

To be honest there's really no such thing as a low maintenance garden. As for the drive way, it's a matter of personal preference.

looksee

When you say 'low maintenance' do you mean 'I never want to have to do a thing' or 'I am prepared to put in a couple of hours most weeks'. Even if you cover the entire thing with concrete you will have to sweep it! Low maintenance generally means forget veg, annual flowers, most things in pots. Even if you plant easy shrubs you will have to do a bit of weeding, especially in the early days years, and you will need to keep up with mulching every year, again in the early stages.

What is there at the moment? Builders' rubble or the remains of an old garden? Any chance of a photo?

A list of shrubs is easy enough, preparing the ground and saving yourself problems in the future is most important at this stage.

nicoladmurphy

Thanks so much for your detailed reply.

We'd be prepared to do our bit for sure but like that, weeding, sweeping and could stretch to a bit of trimming. (I don't know what mulching is!! But I'll look it up).

Old, old garden there, currently falling apart with dodgy walls, tarmac (or what's left of it).

We want the two cars in, rebuild and centre the steps. We have to leave a fair bit of concrete at the front of the house because we will eventually get an extension when we have the money.

looksee

Suggest you block out your car number or you will have every cowboy 'landscaper' in the county at your door!

I'll have a look at the pics and make some suggestions.

looksee

It sounds as though you want to make fairly significant changes to the front. You will need to be aware if you are taking out any of the concrete that there are almost certainly service cables/pipes etc immediately under or even in it. Where would the extension go? Are you talking about a porch? That's usually all you would get pp for in front of a house. It is very unlikely that the existing concrete would be acceptable as a base for any building.

You want to move the steps, once you start that kind of re-sculpting of an area there is usually a knock-on effect with the rest of the structure, and a mix of new concrete and old does not usually work. I kinda like the trough to the left but I doubt it would survive any adjacent concrete being removed.

It all really depends on what you are prepared to get done. You could take out the old tarmac and that broken looking concrete wall, and patch up from there, but you might consider it worthwhile doing a full job on it and get it the way you want it, I don't think you will do it piecemeal. Choosing shrubs is way down the list.

However. Is that a holly beside the house? You could take a lot of the under branches out of it and make it a bit more tree than shrub, if you want it there at all, it is a bit close to the house. The two azaleas could be rescued and moved later in the year. The narrow leaves beside them look like montbretia, which would be no loss if you just dug it out. The huge lily clump will be a major labour to move/get out. A digger would lift it out and some pieces taken off it for transplanting if you wish. I would 'save' it for you 😀. I have just got two tiny pots started, but that's the kind of size they reach, really a bit big for a suburban garden unless you keep splitting it. I love the fuchsia(?) (the red flowers), again it might be moved later in the year and no harm to reduce the size of it, it will come back better.

nicoladmurphy

Thanks so much. Really helpful. You're very good to give me your time.