All yards require some degree of maintenance to look their best year after year. With that said, many homeowners want to reclaim their weekends and go with low-maintenance lawn ideas to keep their yard beautiful without a huge time commitment. So how do you know what to choose to enjoy a beautiful lawn without needing tons of upkeep? We’ve got you covered.
Today, we’re looking at low-maintenance lawn ideas so you can spend less time working, and more time enjoying. Read on and learn how!
Beautiful Low-Maintenance Lawn Ideas
Low-maintenance lawn ideas don’t have to sacrifice curb appeal or mean your backyard needs to look boring. Quite the opposite, actually, there are loads of beautiful low-maintenance lawn ideas that create a gorgeous yard space without requiring a huge time commitment! Wouldn’t it be nice to have polished, professional landscaping without spending every weekend fighting the battle of the weeds or desperately trying to keep your grass alive?
To help you get the best lawn in the neighborhood without sacrificing your free time, we’ve put together a list of low-maintenance lawn ideas you should consider such as:
- Mowing your lawn less
- Adding hardscaping like a new patio installation
- Choosing the right trees to plant
- Mulching your landscaping for a low-maintenance, polished look
- Picking flowers that thrive in your region
- Adding a water feature to your landscaping
- Creating dog-friendly landscaping
- Installing a rock garden for low-maintenance, natural landscaping
Mow Less!
Kicking off our list of low-maintenance lawn ideas, we’re correcting one of the spring and summer lawn care mistakes you’re probably making. Don’t worry, you’re not alone! While keeping on top of lawn maintenance tasks does keep it from becoming overwhelming, you can probably cut down the number of times you’re mowing the yard this season. In fact, mowing too often or too short is one of the most common summer lawn care mistakes homeowners tend to make.
Letting your grass grow long and then scalping it is one of the easiest guaranteed ways to kill your lawn. Why is that? Scalping your grass limits its ability to store nutrients and leaves it prone to scorching in the Capital Region summer sun. The key to low-maintenance lawn ideas when it comes to mowing is the less is more approach. Keeping your grass at a consistent level, never removing more than one-third of its length at a time, will keep your yard effortlessly lush all year long.
Add Hardscaping to Your Yard
From front yard landscaping edging to inspiration for a patio installation, hardscaping is one of the best low-maintenance lawn ideas that not only gives a beautiful look, but also adds value to your home.
For example, adding hardscaping when considering how to landscape the front of your house can boost curb appeal. This gives a welcoming look to your home that is great for you, your guests, and adds value if you choose to sell your home in the future. Having a polished front yard makes a great first impression.
For low-maintenance lawn ideas in your backyard, patio installations cut down on the amount of landscaping you have to keep up as well as make perfect backyard design plans for summer entertaining and relaxing! Well-planned patio installations are one of the easiest ways landscape design can transform your backyard with low-maintenance lawn ideas you can enjoy.
Other examples of hardscaping you can integrate into low-maintenance lawn ideas are building pathways with pavers and stones. Having walkways in your backyard space cuts down on the amount of grass you need to keep in check while giving you and guests easy access to different areas of your yard. For example, you could create a stone walkway from a patio installation to a shady backyard tree giving you another space to enjoy your yard even on the hottest of summer days.
Choosing the Right Trees for Your Region
Trees make low-maintenance lawn ideas you should consider this year, as well. The key here is choosing the right trees for your region, however, as some will require much more work than others to grow. Some of the best trees to plant in Upstate NY like the Spartan juniper add privacy and are resistant to pests, making them ideal low-maintenance lawn ideas for your yard space.
If you’re adding trees to your yard as part of your low-maintenance lawn ideas, don’t forget landscaping to complete the look! Landscaping around trees gives yet another opportunity for low-maintenance lawn ideas that can be both beautiful and practical.
Mulch Landscaping Ideas
Mulching is one of the best low-maintenance lawn ideas professional landscaping services in Albany, Saratoga, Colonie, and the Capital Region can do to protect and spruce up the overall look of your yard. It adds a polished, professional look to your yard without requiring a lot of upkeep. While organic mulch will need to be replaced periodically, inorganic materials such as pebbles, river rock, and landscape fabrics placed over landscaping may provide even easier low-maintenance lawn ideas to consider.
Some of the other benefits of adding mulch to landscaping that make them low-maintenance lawn ideas are:
- Retention of moisture in the soil
- Suppression of weed growth
- Protection of plant roots
- Protection against some pests
Native Plants and Flowers for Your Region
When you’re looking for low-maintenance lawn ideas to include in your landscaping, choosing native plants and flowers to your region is the right way to go. There are plenty of low-maintenance options for your landscaping that will look amazing without requiring a ton of work to thrive. The key here is considering the USDA plant hardiness zones and which plants and flowers will grow most easily in your region. Landscaping professionals in the Capital Region will know which species will work best for your yard given the regional climate, how much sun and shade they will get in your space, and how much (or little!) upkeep you’re looking to provide.
Water Feature Installations for Low-Maintenance Lawn Ideas
Looking for low-maintenance lawn ideas that still make a splash? (See what we did there?) Choosing a water feature installation is a great way to transform your backyard space into the private oasis of your dreams! There are different types of water features to fit almost any size yard and budget, so you’ll be sure to find one that you love. The best part? Maintaining a water feature after installation requires relatively little work while giving a showstopping look to your lawn.
Bonus Tip: NVS Waterscapes, a division of NVS Landscapes, is ready to build you the water feature installation of your dreams. Let our professionals show you how these low-maintenance lawn ideas can transform your backyard into the ultimate relaxation and entertaining space!
Creating Dog-Friendly Landscaping
Dogs are lovable, energetic–if not sometimes destructive–part of our families. Creating dog-friendly landscaping is one of the best low-maintenance lawn ideas to keep you from having to repair damage all year long. Ideas like creating a designated bathroom space for your dog, installing a sandbox for them to use for digging, or adding shade with trees to keep your pup cool are all simple low-maintenance lawn ideas that will keep you from doing damage control and let you enjoy your yard to its fullest!
Having a Rock Garden
Last up on our list of low-maintenance lawn ideas is converting some of your landscaping into a rock garden. No matter whether it’s part of your front yard or backyard landscaping, rock gardens add a polished, professional, and calming quality to your space. They’re also ideal low-maintenance lawn ideas for landscaping where grass won’t grow. Front yard landscaping with rocks also gives a great opportunity to boost curb appeal and create a welcoming entry to your home.
There are tons of low-maintenance lawn ideas that will let you enjoy your home more, and work less. The best place to start is with a landscape planner online to begin planning and budgeting your project. Save your plans or submit them to us and one of our landscaping professionals will be in touch to get started. Let us bring your low-maintenance lawn ideas to life and take back your weekend!
Looking for more low-maintenance lawn ideas and inspiration? Check out these guides:
