4 Low-Maintenance Landscaping Ideas for Lewis Center, OH, Front Yards
A lush green lawn and vibrant softscape can be an absolute delight, boosting your curb appeal and giving your Lewis Center, OH, home a welcoming appearance. However, it can transform into your worst nightmare when it demands constant mowing and watering and, despite your dedication, dies! If you’re fed up with the amount of maintenance your front yard requires, consider some of the following low-maintenance landscaping solutions that will leave you with a stunning landscape and more free time.
Native Hardy Perennials
Instead of struggling to keep a selection of expensive exotic plants alive, draw inspiration from local landscapes and find plants that will thrive in your environment without your interference. Grass is high maintenance, yet most homeowners need it in order to feel at home. Consider opting for Fescue grass, which is not only disease-resistant but is also slow growing and requires less frequent mowing.
Related: 4 Cozy Landscaping Tips for Fall in Westerville, OH
When picking bushes for your front yard, opt for those that don’t require constant pruning. Azaleas, for example, look best when left unpruned and grow to form natural drifts. Perennial plants return year after year to grace the landscape with their colors and textures. They are, therefore, lower maintenance options than plantings that die off every year as part of the natural cycle. You could also consider coneflowers for your front yard. They bloom all season, bearing purple or white flowers that can be picked and used to create a centerpiece at the dinner table.
Mulch for Low Maintenance
Packing mulch around the plants in your front yard has numerous benefits. It retains water so that plants don’t have to be watered as frequently. Less frequent watering eliminates the risk of overwatering, which can invite pests and lead to rotting. Mulch also prevents the growth of weeds so that you spend less time pulling them out. Finally, it decays over time to enrich the soil and improve the health of all plants growing within it. Hardwood and pine bark are among the natural mulch options that last the longest. Due to their gradual decay, they require replacement just once a year.
A Fully Developed Outdoor Living Space
The more greenery you have out front, the higher the maintenance requirements of your front yard. Consider creating patios and other outdoor living spaces that can replace parts of the natural landscape. The type of outdoor living space you create will depend entirely upon your lifestyle—whether you often host get-togethers or would prefer to spend your weekend curled up with a good book. You can minimize the maintenance requirements of your hardscape areas even further by opting for durable materials that are unlikely to crack or fade and require replacement.
A Rocky Terrain
Rocks require no maintenance at all. Yet, they’re packed with character and tend to look good in any setting. They withstand virtually all environmental forces and are some of the hardiest features found in nature. Consider replacing the grass in parts of your front yard with decorative pebbles. Large boulders can replace many of the shrubs you keep pruning. Rocks can be used to unify hardscape areas with the surrounding greenery. Surround a wooden deck or pergola with beautiful boulders to showcase the stunning textures found in both materials, while exploiting their differences to create a charming contrast.