Help...What plants/Shrubs that are low maintance

Lovely M

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I really would like ideas for what I can put in this area. I will use black mulch.

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Yardvaark

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

It is not the plant itself that determines if it is high or low maintenance. It is that it grows too fast and too large for the position in which it is being used. Or, it is in some way not suited for the use it has been given. For example, if you have alkaline soil, but install acid-loving plants and then have to treat them chemically, ongoing, you are adding to the work and expense of yard maintenance. If you plant trashy or fruit-dropping trees over a patio or deck, you are adding to maintenance. But these same trees could be low maintenance planted at a distance without paving under them, where their mess can decay without being seen or bothering humans.

Another way to add to maintenance -- and a very common one -- is by planting more quantity than is necessary to make the functional or artistic statement. This is common because, to a large extent, the landscape industry is about selling plants. Based on common rules of economy, a client would balk at paying much for a landscape design that uses a low quantity of plants. But they would think they got a design bargain if, for the same price, the plan was chock full of plants. (I'm talking in general, not every instance.)

Another way that maintenance is added is by having a higher VARIETY of plants per square foot of ground space. Different plants are maintained different ways so where there is a change from one to another, it may require that maintenance tools and a mindset are changed, which takes time. Turfgrass, in and of itself, might consume more maintenance time, effort and money, but if there is nothing but turfgrass, it can be quickly taken care of, in a basic way, with one or two tools and a relatively unboggled mind. Not KNOWING how to care for a plant seems to be a fairly large obstacle for many people in taking care of their landscape. This ultimately, ends up in neglect, which over a period of time converts into some daunting maintenance tasks.

In the end, it's going to be harder for a person without good plant knowledge to create a low maintenance landscape, than it would be for a person with lots of plant knowledge and experience. A designer could help greatly, but it must be a designer who does not subscribe to the notion that more quantity and variety is automatically better. You have to review the designer's approach.

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Comments (6)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years ago
Missing a lot of vital info here.......:-)

Need clear photos of the area in question, your geographic location (nearest large city) and some idea of soil and light conditions - good drainage? sand or clay? sun or shade?

The more information you provide, the better the responses will be.
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Which direction does the house face? You have that strange overhang which mostly isn't a porch. Well, you did say the porch area gets some sun, so presumably the house faces south-ish. Perhaps it's lack of water that's made the yews under the windows so unhappy. If you decide to replace the yews with something else that height, plant them away from the house a couple of feet. That'll allow you access to the brick and windows for cleaning, painting, etc., and will get the new shrubs closer to the sun and rain, which will make them happier. I'd put brightly-colored flowers in front of the lower evergreens which are in front of the yews (junipers, perhaps?). Because the junipers aren't so tall, I'd keep the flowers shorter: pansies, petunias, candytuft, English daisies, etc. This is not quite what you were asking, but perhaps it will be helpful to you. My parents once owned a house with a circular driveway. Like your situation, the apex of the circular driveway was in front of the main entrance to the house. Theirs had a wide brick walkway from the driveway to the front door. The landscaping was designed so the view from the street to the front door was unimpeded. In other words, where you have a lamp with shrubs to either side, they had only grass. There was a gap of 20' or so, then shrubs which continued along the driveway on each side to the street. It was an elegant way to frame the front door. Obviously you have a lamp in front of the front door to complicate matters. But if you wanted to do something similar -- without moving the lamp -- you could plant low flowers (under a foot in height) where the shrubs are now, with shrubs or taller flowers (probably no more than 2' or so) to either side. With nothing else tall in that area, hopefully the lamp wouldn't give the same effect of blocking entrance to the house when surrounded by low plants as it does now with its wall of shrubs.
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cpy911, If the maple isn't there any more, you can plant anything you like there as a nice privacy hedge. Personally, I would choose Japanese privet, and shear them after they bloom and make cute trees out of them. See pics online, they take a good shear easily, but need to be faithfully watered in the heat. They will grow nice and fast for you, so you will be pleased when you don't see your neighbors in the first season you plant them. There is also wax leaf privet, a little different, very attractive bush, takes pruning very good. Doesn't grow as fast as the Japanese privet though. Another option could be ornamental grasses also. They will need water, but they grow fast, and except for the first couple months of spring, when they are cut back, you will have privacy from June through the next March every year. I have silver Miscanthus grass, needs water, but it is beautiful and about 7 ft tall and 5 feet wide. Or you could just find a tree that spreads at the top, and is evergreen, you could buy a larger specimen at a local nursery, see what they have. That would look nice and you will plant it and water it in this winter and the maintance will be a lot less than a hedge. Oh, by the way, look up Pittosporum on Google. I love these bushes, they are beautiful and have orange fragrant flowers in spring. Perfect for what you want to use it for.
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Agree with Gardengal that the bed is not right for just a bunch of shrubs. But I would take it farther in that the bed itself is not right, if the overall objective is to create a better looking setting for the house. For one thing, it seems to force all the planting to be directly in front of the house, instead of including a setting that frames the house. For another, it seems to invite plantings that will visually obstruct the walk/entrance from the street view. And the "stones" sticking up like that, since they are imperfect in their install quality (uneven top and curves with straights and corner) would be a better looking if set flush with grade, as a mowing strip. They would still create a formalized edge, but without creating the "empty baking pan" appearance. It's hard to give you good suggestions, though, because your photos do not allow us to view the property more as if were were standing there. To do that, you'd need to stand about 25' from the house, lined up with the center of the scene you're recording, and take about 3 or 4 shots that pan the scene from left to right. In doing that, the camera MUST remain at the same location for all shots, merely pivoting. The first shot should aim far enough left that we see the left neighbor's house, and the last shot far enough right that we see the right neighbor's house. This way we can grasp a contiguous frontal scene. The center of the scene is probably about in line with the front door. It would be good to include another straight-on shot from across the street that shows your whole front yard.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years ago
Actually, plants are rated by the maintenance they require :-) In general, the larger and the more long lived a plant is, the less maintenance it requires - trees require less maintenance than do perennials and perennials require less maintenance than annuals. And evergreens generally require less maintenance than deciduous plants. And some plants are just known for requiring frequent attention to keep them looking good or productive....roses, most edibles, many vines that will require at least annual pruning, etc.

Yes, size matters :-) As does the quantity. But plant selection also weighs very heavily into the equation.
Lovely M thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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Yardvaark
4 years ago
I agree 100%, Gardengal, that there is a maintenance level difference based on the category in which a plant falls (tree, shrub, perennial, annual.) Though I did not say so, my arguments were based on that being an already accepted, widespread fact, as it is so elementary a truth about plants. It's easy to forget that not everyone necessarily knows it. I was comparing plants within a category to their various counterparts, or in choosing an entirely wrong category for a given function.
Lovely M thanked Yardvaark
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years ago
LOL!! Yard, I find that to be almost universally a very little known fact about plants :-) Unless serious gardeners, most homeowners don't know bupkis about the care requirements of the plants in their garden!! That's why we see so many photos of grossly overgrown landscapes, improper tree/shrub siting and butchered pruning jobs.
Lovely M thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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Yardvaark
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I meant that the plant category differences are universally known by every pro and gardener going back to our earliest experiences ... not to the newcomers and novices. They make the mistake easily and you were right to point it out.
Lovely M thanked Yardvaark

Help...What plants/Shrubs that are low maintance

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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