A beautiful garden doesn't have to mean endless weekends spent weeding, pruning, watering and mowing. With smart planning and the right products, you can create an attractive outdoor space that looks fantastic all year round while requiring minimal upkeep.
Whether you're landscaping a new build, upgrading an existing garden or simply wanting to spend more time enjoying your outdoor space rather than maintaining it, this guide will help you create a low-maintenance garden that suits the Canterbury lifestyle.
Start with a simple design. The easiest gardens to maintain are often the simplest. Avoid creating lots of small garden beds, complicated pathways, or plant collections that require constant trimming. Instead, focus on clean lines, larger planting areas and a cohesive design. When planning your garden, think about how much time you realistically want to spend maintaining it.
Choose hardy, reliable plants. Selecting the right plants is one of the most important steps in creating a low-maintenance landscape. Look for plants that thrive in Canterbury conditions and require little watering once established. Plants that maintain their shape once established. Also consider plants that are resistant to pests and diseases. This doesn't mean you have to miss out on the visual interest!
Some popular low-maintenance options include:
Shrubs
- Pittosporum
- Hebe
- Corokia
- Nandina
- Camellia
Groundcovers
- Mondo Grass
- Ajuga
- Acaena
- Native grasses
Feature Plants
- Japanese Maple
- Olive Trees
- Astelia
- Yucca
Using a combination of evergreen and seasonal plants helps keep your garden looking great throughout the year without excessive maintenance.
Install quality weed mat. Weeds are often the biggest source of garden maintenance. Installing a professional-grade weed mat beneath bark, mulch or decorative stone can significantly reduce weed growth and save countless hours of work.
Benefits include reduced weeding, improved moisture retention, a cleaner garden appearance and better long-term performance of mulch and decorative stone.
At Leading Landscapes, we recommend using quality non-woven weed mat for planting beds and decorative areas.
Use bark and mulch generously. Mulch is one of the best investments you can make in your garden. Applying bark or mulch at the correct depth helps to suppress weeds, retain soil moisture, improve soil health and protect plant roots from temperature extremes.
For most garden beds, a depth of 50–75mm provides excellent results. Popular options include fine black or brown bark or chunky barks. Refreshing mulch every few years is much easier than dealing with ongoing weed problems.
One thing to note, is that you still sometimes do get persistent weeds, seeds that have blown in etc. It's not always a guarantee that you'll never have to weed again. Sometimes hand-pulling is necessary or a carefully applied spray (avoiding your plants) can be required. The key is starting with a great weed mat and a good layer of mulch to avoid this.
Reduce lawn areas. While lawns can look fantastic, they are often the highest maintenance part of a property. Consider replacing unused lawn areas with:
- Decorative stone
- Bark gardens
- Groundcover planting
- Raised garden beds
- Feature paving
Reducing your lawn area can dramatically cut mowing, edging, watering, and fertilising requirements.
Add decorative stone features. Decorative stone is a fantastic low-maintenance landscaping material. Options such as River Stone, Amuri Chip, Black Chip or White Gravel provide texture, contrast and visual interest without requiring regular upkeep. Stone features work particularly well in modern landscapes and Japanese-inspired gardens.
Install solar garden lighting. Outdoor lighting improves both the appearance and functionality of your garden. Solar lighting offers:
- No wiring required
- Minimal running costs
- Improved safety
- Evening ambience
Pathway lights, flame-effect lights and feature lighting can transform your outdoor space after dark while requiring virtually no maintenance.
Craft defined garden zones. Clearly defined areas are easier to maintain than gardens that blend together. Consider creating separate zones for entertaining, planting, lawn, vegetable gardens and decorative feature areas. Using edging, pavers, gravel, and planting helps create a tidy, organised landscape that stays looking neat year-round.
Be water smart. Installing efficient irrigation can dramatically reduce garden maintenance. A simple drip irrigation system can deliver water directly to plant roots and reduce waste water. This will improve plant health and save time during those warm summer months. Combined with mulch and drought-tolerant plants, irrigation can help create a truly low-maintenance landscape.
Invest in quality products from the start. The cheapest landscaping products often become the most expensive over time. Quality plants, weed mat, bark, decorative stone, edging, and lighting generally last longer, perform better and require less maintenance. Investing in quality materials from the beginning helps ensure your garden continues looking great for years to come.
Create a garden you'll enjoy. A low-maintenance garden isn't about sacrificing beauty—it's about designing smarter. By choosing the right plants, reducing lawn areas, using weed suppression systems and incorporating quality landscaping products, you can enjoy a stunning outdoor space without spending every weekend maintaining it.
Whether you're creating a new garden or upgrading an existing landscape, Leading Landscapes offers a range of plants, bark, decorative stone, garden lighting and landscaping products to help you build a garden that's designed to be enjoyed.
