Hey y'all, welcome to the best secrets on this site! Easy gardening secrets! If you want to sit back and relax in your garden, THIS page is the one you need to pay the most attention to!
This is a picture of my tiny garden at our Washington State Town home. It was about 600 square feet.
Very, very small!
Now if you have been paying attention, you have seen this little garden before...in this picture...
And in this one....
I've used them because they illustrated ideas, and because they are easy to get! But there is a wonderful quality to this garden that I truly love. Yes, it is beautiful for a tiny garden, and it has some neat plants...but what I love BEST??
It is EASY!!!!
I have lived in my town home with my tiny garden for seven years now. I can count on my two hands how many times I have had to weed it! Don't you want to know THAT secret?
Well, here it is, the secret of easy gardening.
Create a low maintenance garden!
There! That is IT! The secret!
Low maintenance gardening creates easy gardens! Seems anti-climatic doesn't it!
Maybe you have seen "low maintenance gardens" like the one above in the past, but if you are like me, I don't like most of them much. Most have no persona...no glow, no jewel like gleam.
But a low maintenance garden doesn't HAVE to be drab.
That's just the "easy" way out.
With a little research, and little patience, and a bit of hard work at the beginning, easy gardening can describe your garden too, and it can be lush, green, and beautiful at the same time. Easy gardening is not easy...! But a little one time effort can net years of garden relaxation in your own delightful garden environs.
I'm am just going to present these ideas in lists for now, because I want you to be able to see them all in one place, but I have, and will continue to, dealt with these and similar subjects throughout this site.
Here is a great list of important ideas that will net you a green, lush, and easy garden experience! There are also a few great plant ideas for you to get started with.
The Easy Gardening Preparation List
(the must dos!)
The Easy Gardening Abominations
Pick your Plants
The easy gardening shopping
list!
Would you rather be on your knees weeding, or sitting in style in your garden? The Easy Gardening way is the only way. No more fuss. No more muss. Just an easy, low maintenance garden.
Hey! I think this is worth the price of admission....I hope you do!
Here are some great ideas for low maintenance garden
plants...THESE will fill the bill for that easy gardening shopping list.
The Skelton List of Low Maintenance Plants
Common Name/ Plant Type |
Maintenance Characteristics |
Crocosmia Bulb |
Dig and make divisions every three to five years. In between? Easy Care! |
Crocus Bulb |
Consistent water required during dry spells. Plant leaves must be allowed to die back prior to cutting. |
Daffodil Bulb |
Water and watch them grow! Leaves must be allowed to die back to nurture bulb. |
Grape Hyacinth Bulb |
Plant where spreading of bulbs is desired. Do not plant in areas where spreading is not desired. Nature takes care of the rest! |
Snowdrop Bulb |
Does not thrive under other the shadow of other plants. Otherwise, a trouble free bulb! |
Iris Varieties Bulb/Rhizome |
Ensure that rhizome is planted so that it lies just above soil surface. Divide when flowers decrease (every 3-5 years in most situations) |
Parthenocissuss Climbing Vine |
Easy vining plant. Use care in siting. This plant can grow very large. |
Fatsia Japonica Evergreen Shrub |
Must be shaded as direct sun will burn leaves. Among the easiest of plants to grow and maintain where hardy and shaded. |
Miscanthus Grass |
Little or no maintenance required beyond watering. |
Blue Star Creeper Groundcover |
Plants creep to about 1 foot circumference. May need occasional trimming along paths or patio edges. |
Baby's Tears Groundcover |
Yearly to twice yearly edging into desired areas. Then just walk away. Requires moist shade to shine. |
Barren Strawberry Groundcover |
Little to no maintenance required beyond watering. |
Creeping Phlox Groundcover |
Will grow just about anywhere if basic needs are met. Benefit from consistent watering. |
Thyme varieties Groundcover |
The perfect plant! Nearly trouble free. |
Vinca varieties Groundcover |
Rare occurrences of plant blight, root rot, or leaf spot. Occasional light trimming may be desired. |
Cotoneaster Groundcover/Shrub |
Occasional light pruning as desired to maintain shape. |
African Daisy Perennial |
Tidy growth habit. May self sow. Invasive in some climates. (check your zone!) |
Artemisia Perennial |
Some varieties can become leggy after flowering, lightly prune for shape, but do not hard prune this plant. |
Astilbe Perennial |
No mess, no fuss, hardy...this one must be the perfect plant! |
Bleeding Heart Perennial |
Plants benefit from occasional light dressing of compost. |
Brunnera Perennial |
Occasional light pruning as desired for shape. Removal of flower stalks may be desired, as they can detract from the striking foliage. |
Calla Lily Perennial |
Requires consistent watering. Bulbs do not like to be disturbed after planting. |
Columbine Perennial |
Columbine may reseed under some conditions. Self sowing is easily managed however. |
Common Fern Perennial |
Trouble free plant. Stay away from bracken fern as it tends to become a nuisance. |
Coral Bells Perennial |
OK, maybe this is the perfect plant! Some gardeners prefer to remove delicate flowers after blooming, but this is unecessary as the spent flower is lovely. |
Daylily Perennial |
Nearly impossible to kill, but well behaved. Cut back after flowering. Deadhead if desired. |
Foam Flower Perennial |
Do not allow roots to remain wet. Happiest in high humus soils. Very little maintenance. |
Hakonechloa macra"Aureola" Perennial |
Siting is important for this plant. Does not tolerate dry soil or root competition from trees. |
Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill) Perennial |
Plant compact varieties in small garden situations. Some varieties may become leggy and require cutting back. |
Hosta varieties Perennial |
Slug bait is critical in most garden situations. Otherwise a truly trouble free plant. |
Lady's Mantle Perennial |
Little to no maintenance required beyond watering. |
Monkshood Perennial |
Requires consistent watering. Too much water can cause crown rot. Taller varieties do need staking for best appearance. |
Peony Perennial |
Elegant Foliage most of the year; dies back in winter, taller varieties may require staking. Extremely long lived. |
Phormium Perennial |
Occasional removal of single leaves that die back. |
Rodgersia pinnata Perennial |
Bait for slugs, otherwise nearly trouble free. |
Sedum 'Autumn Joy' Perennial |
Excellent plant which requires little attention. Broken leaves will create new plants easily if tamped into ground. |
Shrub Rose Perennial |
Requires occasional mulching for best health. Prune for shape. |
Euonymous Shrub |
Can be invasive in some climates. (check your zone!) Where it is not invasive, one of the most trouble free shrubs available. |
Euphorbia Shrub |
Little to no maintenance required beyond watering. |
Heathers - Calluna varieties Shrub |
Occasional pruning as desired. Consistent watering required especially in first year. |
Heathers - Erica varieties Shrub |
Occasional pruning as desired. Consistent watering required especially in first year. |
Huckleberry Shrub |
Prune as desired for shape. |
Hydrangea Shrub |
Benefit from occasional fertilizer. |
Japanese Barberry Shrub |
Occasional pruning of a stray branch may be required. Otherwise a shapely and trouble free choice! |
Nandina Shrub |
Prune as desired for shape, and to encourage dense branching. |
Pittosporum Shrub |
Aphids can occasionally be a problem, but are easily eradicated. |
Rhododendron Shrub |
Deadhead as desired to encourage next year blooms, but not required for plant health. |
Sarcococca (Sweet Box) Shrub |
Little or no maintenance required beyond watering. |
Acer Palmatum Small Tree |
Some varieties occasionally self sow. |
Evergreen Conifers Tree |
Water heavily in first year to establish. |
Good Luck! and EASY GARDENING!