The idyllic image of spending hours tending to our garden plots is often just that; an image. Enter the concept of the ‘Lazy Gardener,’ for busy folks that love plants but have little time to devote to them. This gardening philosophy is all about creating a beautiful, thriving garden with minimal effort and maintenance.
Low-maintenance gardening starts with the right plant choices. These are the hardy survivors, the ones that demand little but give a lot. Succulents, for example, are the poster children of the low-maintenance gardening world. With their thick, fleshy leaves that store water, they thrive on neglect and only need occasional watering. Varieties like aloe vera, jade plants, and snake plants not only bring a sculptural aesthetic to your living spaces but also purify the air inside your home.
Perennials are another group of plants that can make a lazy gardener’s life easier. Once established, plants like daylilies, coneflowers, and lavender keep coming back year after year with minimal intervention. They don’t require annual replanting and can often get by with the water that nature provides, except in the driest of climates.
Ground covers are a smart choice as well, creating a living carpet that suppresses weeds and reduces the need for mulching. Creeping thyme, creeping charlie, native strawberry, and creeping jenny not only stay low to the ground, minimizing pruning needs, but also add a fragrant dimension to your garden. In a pinch, deep mulch over weed barriers like heavy and layered cardboard reduces weeding by an order of magnitude.
For those who love a touch of green indoors, several houseplants ask for little while still making a statement. The peace lily, with its lush foliage and striking white flowers, is resilient and can survive in lower light conditions. Similarly, the rubber plant is not just tough but also grows into a striking tree that can be a focal point in any room. And the zig zag plant is similarly tough as nails.
Herbs like rosemary and thyme are excellent choices for the lazy gardener. Not only are they easy to grow, but they also offer the added benefit of being edible. Imagine being able to snip off a few sprigs for dinner without ever having to don a pair of gardening gloves.
Of course, low maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance. Every plant needs a little love to thrive and get established. But by choosing the right plants and implementing simple gardening strategies like mulching to retain soil moisture, using drip irrigation to minimize water waste, and planting in the right location, we can significantly reduce the time and effort required. Some house plants can even be “loved to death,” overwatered and overtended, so don’t feel bad about neglecting them sometimes. It’s good for them.
Gardening should be a joy, not a chore. For those with limited time, low-maintenance plants offer a gateway to the joys of gardening without the heavy commitment. So go ahead, embrace your inner lazy gardener, and let your garden thrive without you.
Feel free to swing by The Gathering Garden in Mount Gilead at the corner of W Allenton St and School St, if you want to discuss gardening with us, you can find out more about or workdays on our facebook page.
In these weekly columns, I will share the science of gardening and so many more interesting tidbits. Check back here every week for tailored Montgomery County garden advice, sharing our garden updates, and more.
Let’s grow together!
This article was originally published in the Montgomery Herald and is reused here with permission by Mary Poplin.