Droopy
 Regular Plants Contributor
Western Norway
Posts: 9272
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:11 pm Post subject: What exactly IS Low Maintenance? |
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A friend of mine is planning her garden, and she wants it as easy as possible to manage, but she also wants it to look good all season. She's a working woman with two small children, an assorted selection of pets and a loving, but busy husband.
I started thinking about what I find "low maintenance", and started to wonder if my definition is the same as everybody else's definition.
I call our hostas "low maintenance" because I put down a ground cover, make holes, plant the hostas of my choice and cover the ground cover with bark chips. In spring I remove the dry foliage, cut the flower stems, fertilize, give them a layer of new soil and just enjoy them until next spring. I have to divide the hostas now and then, but I just dig them up, divide them, give one half away and replant the other half.
The lilies are also labelled "low maintenance" most of the time. I plant them, they grow, they die down, I remove the dead stalks. The lily beetles are giving me grief, but without those the lilies are easy to grow. A lot of them grow nicely in acid soil alongside the hostas.
When I think about it I'd say that most of our plants outside are "low maintenance". They are planted and fed, they grow and bloom, the dead bits are tidied away, and that's it really.
Am I on a totally wrong track here? What do you call "low maintenance"?
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gardengater
NC
Posts: 1544
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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Pretty much any perennial plant once established in the right conditions are low maintenance, don't you think, Droopy? Anything like roses are more work, like spraying for disease and pests. (at least that's what we have to do here in the south. I like Iris, ferns, Hollyhock, butterfly bush always in my garden. I love your Hostas,but too hot here to grow them and no shade.
Gardengater
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stratsmom
Southern Oregon
Posts: 2285
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with the perennial vote. Droopy tell her you can't beat daylilies!!! I like to plant it and forget it! I love bulbs for springtime and bearded iris are pretty great for spring too. Nasturtiums and morning glories are great for an annual splash of color 
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Droopy
Regular Plants Contributor
Western Norway
Posts: 9272
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:27 pm Post subject: |
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I'm with you both on the perennial side. There are also nice, evergreen bushes with a very slow growth rate that won't need pruning at all.
I've been doing some more thinking, and found that I spend a lot of time weeding. So anything that will enjoy growing in plots with groundcovers would work.
Then I do a lot of dividing. So plants that needs dividing every 3-5 years could be labelled "low maintenace".
We rarely have to worry about watering where we live, since we get watered very frequently from above. Still, a nice rock border with sand, gravel, sedums and sempervivums would definately be "low maintenace", don't you think?
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Netty
Regular Plants Contributor
Southern Ontario zone 5a
Posts: 9959
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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Hosta's are definitely low maintenance Droopy. How about some flowering shrubs? (Lilac comes to mind for me.) Daylilies, Ornamental Grasses, and Ferns.
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Droopy
Regular Plants Contributor
Western Norway
Posts: 9272
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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Flowering shrubs that won't need trimming after blooming is great, Netty. Thank you.  It seems my idea of "low maintenace" wasn't too far from everybody else's idea after all.
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toni
Administrator
Plants Moderator
Regular Plants Contributor
North Texas, Zone 8a
Posts: 11251
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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In my neck of the woods drought tolerant is a must for low maintainence designation and that usually means plants that are native to my area.
I would love my shady area to be filled with Hosta and Ferns but then I would have to keep a water source on them 24/7 thru their growing season.
Iris, Daylillies, Ornamental Grasses are low maintainence here too. I am hoping to add several of the ornamental grasses to the front garden next year because of that.
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travelingbooklover
Kuwait
Posts: 262
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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Back in the U.S., perennial herbs and buddleia were plants I considered low maintenance. If they get out of control, you can cut them back as much as you want, they seemed to withstand kids and animal well too.
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Droopy
Regular Plants Contributor
Western Norway
Posts: 9272
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Thank you eileen, I've book-marked it and will send her the link! I'll read it myself as well. Looks like loads of good tips in there.
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Public Designs
ohio
Posts: 100
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:52 pm Post subject: |
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I consider perennials the easiest to do as far as maintenance goes. I like some extra color in the garden that I don't feel I can get with most perennials. I like to use impatiens for that and geraniums. They are easy to grow and spread well. The colors are vibrant and very noticeable no matter where you plant them.
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colourmegrae
Florida.
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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Low maintenance; something you can plant that will take off on it's own without your intervention. 
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Droopy
Regular Plants Contributor
Western Norway
Posts: 9272
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| Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Geraniums, of course. *taking notes*
Colourmegrea, that's a good one!
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