Tips on How to Design a Beautiful, Low-Maintenance Landscape

Having a landscape that is both beautiful and low maintenance may seem too good to be true – but there are ways to accomplish this feat! The biggest tip to keep your landscape low maintenance is to design with native plants. Native plants are already accustomed to the environment, so you won’t need to supplement water or fertilizer as much as you would with a non-native plant. Some plants that are native to Indiana include black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, hydrangeas, and many more! You can also add ground cover in the form of mulch or rock across your landscape beds. Ground covers will protect your landscape beds from soil erosion and will help to prevent weed growth. What’s more, adding ground coverings to your landscape beds will also increase their visual appeal, making them a great addition. Designing your space with these things in mind will help create a beautiful, low-maintenance landscape.

Native Plants Can Thrive With Less Watering & Fertilization

Native landscaping brings many benefits to your property, the first being that they need less fertilizer and watering. These plants are already accustomed to the environment, so they don’t need as much extra support to thrive as non-native plants do. Similarly, they won’t need as many pesticide applications. Because they’re native, they’ll help support the wildlife around you, like birds, butterflies, and pollinators.

Some examples of native plants in Indiana are:

• Arborvitae
• Black-eyed Susan
• Blue false indigo
• Blue star willow
• Butterfly weed
• Columbine
• Coneflower
• Hydrangea
• Marsh milkweed
• Sundrops
• Wild geranium

There are tons more options, so you can achieve any visual effect you’d like for your property using native plants! You can view more options for Indiana in this brochure produced by the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society.

Because they need less fertilizer, water, and pesticide, native plants overall help combat climate change and conserve water. Overall, not only are native plants great for the environment in many ways, but they can help you save money by spending less on supplemental treatments.

Ground Cover Is Low-Maintenance and Prevents Weed Growth

For ground cover in landscape beds, mulch and rock are common varieties and are a very aesthetically pleasing way to add interest to your property. Since they aren’t living plants, they’re low-maintenance, only requiring a refresh every so often, and visually provide a cohesive transition between different landscape features on your property. Ground coverings also help prevent soil erosion in those areas, providing a barrier between the soil and harsher elements like wind or rain, which we get plenty of here in Indiana.

Since ground cover blocks sunlight from the soil underneath, it helps prevent weeds from being able to grow through and overtake the landscape. Additionally, when you use mulch as ground cover, it will decompose over time and add nutrients back into your soil.