Even if you love gardening, finding the time in your busy schedule to maintain your outdoor space can just end up being another thing to worry about. Nobody wants a scruffy, unkempt garden as it does absolutely nothing for your home’s kerb appeal, so we’ve got a few solutions for helping you keep your garden looking presentable without taking up too much of your time.
Plant perennials
Perennial plants are plants that do not die after one season of growth. Some last 2-3 years, whilst others last much longer. Whilst you’ll still need to water them regularly, you won’t have to spend hours and hours of your time each season planting new foliage to keep your garden looking pretty. Perennials die in the winter but grow back from their roots each spring/summer, giving your garden a new lease of life with zero effort on your part. Most fruit trees, vegetable and herb plants are perennials, meaning your garden could actually produce a nice little stock of produce each year with no extra effort required.
Enlist the help of your children
If you’re struggling to water your garden and many of your plants have seen better days, then recruiting a few little helpers could be a simple way to solve your problem. Give your children the responsibility of watering your plants after school each day; they’ll probably be thrilled to find themselves entrusted with such a task and will enjoy watching the plants grow under their care. Buying them each their own brightly coloured watering can will also give them a sense of importance and encourage them to be enthusiastic about their new task.
Ditch the turf
If you’re a dog owner, then keeping your lawn looking well-maintained is probably a struggle you’re all too familiar with. Dogs love digging, playing and doing their ‘business’ on your grass, and the likelihood is that it’s a constant battle trying to fill dug-up holes and keep those yellowy patches looking green and healthy. Installing an artificial lawn could be the perfect solution because they’re permeable, so your dog’s toilet trips won’t cause any damage. They won’t dry out in the summer or ice over in the winter, so you’ll have a perfectly green lawn all year round. Artificial lawns don’t have to look unnatural either, as lots of different styles and colours are available, so you can cheat to achieve the lawn that you’ve been trying to attain for so long.
Automatic Irrigation
Another way you can keep your garden well-watered without having to spend time doing it yourself is to install an automatic irrigation system. They’re relatively inexpensive to buy and you can even opt for one with a timer if you’re often away from the house for a few days at a time. You could even make one yourself using a leaky old hosepipe. Pierce a few extra holes in it and run it along your flower beds; all you need to do is turn it on at the tap and your plants are watered hassle free!