A functional outdoor space can be attractive and low-maintenance!
Backyards are the belle of the ball this season as outdoor living space is gaining in popularity. Homeowners are taking advantage of California’s lovely weather and integrating the outdoors with the indoors. Take a look at some of the ways to create a cultivated outdoor living area that requires minimal maintenance.
Patio/Deck
Creating outdoor living spaces lends itself to low-maintenance landscaping because you can extend your home while having fewer grassy areas to care for. Consider a patio or deck with a grilling area, dining table, and maybe even a fire pit.
Large stones or pavers are an excellent way to add class and warmth to your outdoor space. If you plan on going this route, make sure to establish a solid base for stone surfaces to avoid fix-ups later. Lay a 6-8 inch layer of compacted pea stones first to prevent weeds and keep your patio level. If you have a good base, your patio will be low-maintenance for decades to come.
Mulch Beds
Around your outdoor living space, add beds of mulch instead of grass. Mulch is great for planters as it breaks down to fertilize your plants and also prevents weeds.
Crushed Stone
Much like mulch, crushed stone is a great low-maintenance option to eliminate weeds and reduce water consumption. A lot of people used crushed stones in beds and planters because it’s a really good xeriscaping technique, and never needs to be replaced.
No Fuss Landscaping
Pick drought-tolerant, native plants and flowers that don’t need pruning and come back year after year.
Perennials such as hens-and-chicks or yuccas are tough plants that grow well in challenging soil and will come back year after year.
Lavender is another drought-tolerant, no-maintenance plant that will add color and fragrance to your yard.
Black-eyed Susans are a good summer choice because they bloom throughout the season.
In autumn, consider Montauk daisies.
Climate-Specific Grass
If you not ready to ditch the grass completely, consider which grasses naturally grow in your region. If you plant a grass that is accustomed to your climate, it will last longer and need much less maintenance than non-native grasses. Research which grass grows best in your area and save money on watering, fertilizing, and other maintenance.
Potted Plants
Incorporating pots into landscaping help to make a yard more versatile while adding color and dimension to your landscape. Pots are easy to move around and generally require less watering than traditional planters. For an added pop of color, coordinate flowers to the season – try whites and pinks in the spring and summer, and switch to yellows and reds in the fall.
Remove Leaves in the Fall
Getting rid of fallen leaves is the easiest way to winter-proof your yard. Get all the leaves off your lawn so they don’t rot out the grass over the winter.
Rain Barrels
Collecting water with rain barrels is an extremely easy (and environmentally friendly!) way to water your plants. Attach a rain barrel to the downspout from your gutters to collect all the water that comes off the roof of your house.
4 Responses
This is a a great list! I have only done a few things so far, to my backyard to leave it low maintenance. We have a concreted patio, and we have bought some patio furnature (table and chairs, flower pot, and a flower bed with mulch. We are looking to add a few more things though.
The rain barrel connected in the drain of the roof is one that we already done. My father likes watering plants so in order to save water, he do this but with a plastic drum barrel. Thanks for the wonderful ideas.
Wow! I really loved your idea for the patio, and using mulch instead of grass. Here in my country, people would usually use crushed rocks or grass, and us using mulch on our outdoor space would surely make it look unique. It’s really awesome I came by this, since my family and I have been considering to make some changes in our garden and outdoors.
Is it always sunny in California? Because putting furnitures outside in our place is not applicable, it rains a lot here. Maybe I can do the gardening and landscaping outside and decorate the space with crushed stones and pebbles.