The Easy-Care

Low intervention, high payoff

Maximum impact with minimum effort. Clean lines, resilient plants, and smart design choices that keep the garden looking good even when you're busy elsewhere. Perfect for people who want a beautiful garden without the commitment.

The Philosophy

Not everyone wants to spend their weekends gardening-and that's fine. The Easy-Care garden is designed for people with busy lives who still want an outdoor space that looks considered and welcoming.

This design prioritizes hard landscaping and bulletproof plants. We use materials that age gracefully and plants that thrive on neglect. The result is a garden that maintains its dignity through drought, busy periods, and inattention.

Key Features

Generous Hard Landscaping

High-quality paving or decking that requires only occasional sweeping. No lawn to mow, no flower beds to weed.

Architectural Planting

Structural plants-grasses, evergreens, architectural shrubs-that look good year-round without deadheading or staking.

Mulched Beds

Thick gravel or bark mulch that suppresses weeds and retains moisture, cutting maintenance dramatically.

Built-in Seating

Low walls or benches that don't need cushions, covers, or storage. Always ready for use, never in the way.

Smart Irrigation

Optional drip irrigation system that keeps containers alive through dry spells without daily attention.

Self-Cleaning Design

Plants chosen for their ability to shed spent flowers and leaves tidily-no deadheading required.

The Planting Palette

Every plant in an Easy-Care garden must earn its place with minimal demands. We avoid anything that needs staking, deadheading, or regular division.

Evergreen Structure

Box and yew - Classic, slow-growing, once-a-year trim
Bamboo (clumping) - Instant screening, no maintenance
Nandina - Evergreen with seasonal color changes, totally self-sufficient
Hebes - Evergreen mounds, ignore them and they thrive

Grasses

Stipa tenuissima - Soft, flowing, one cut per year in early spring
Carex varieties - Evergreen grass-like plants for structure
Pennisetum - Fountain grasses with long-season interest

Tough Perennials

Sedums - Drought-tolerant, autumn flowers, no maintenance
Euphorbias - Architectural, evergreen, just watch them grow
Hellebores - Winter flowers, shade-tolerant, self-seeding
Japanese anemones - Reliable late summer flowers, spread gently

Ground Covers

Erigeron karvinskianus - Flowers all summer, fills gaps, no care
Thyme - Drought-tolerant, fragrant, suppresses weeds
Vinca - Evergreen coverage for difficult shady spots

Layout Principles

The Easy-Care garden is intentionally simple in its organization:

Zone 1: The Terrace

A single generous hard surface near the house for dining and relaxing. Quality materials that age well-no staining, sealing, or annual maintenance required.

Zone 2: The Planting Border

A single, well-defined bed along boundaries with architectural planting and generous mulch. No complex planting schemes that need seasonal refreshment.

Zone 3: The Screening

Clumping bamboo or pleached evergreens along boundaries-fast screening that requires no pruning or care beyond occasional containment checks.

The secret is restraint. A few well-chosen plants in generous drifts create more impact than fussy, complex borders-and require a fraction of the effort.

Maintenance Level

Minimal. Expect to spend 1-2 hours per month during the growing season, mostly sweeping and occasional watering of new plants. The first year requires more attention while plants establish; after that, the garden largely takes care of itself.

Annual tasks: Cut back grasses in spring, trim evergreens if needed, refresh mulch every few years. That's it. This is a garden for people who want to enjoy their outdoor space, not manage it.

Want a Beautiful Garden Without the Work?

This design can be adapted to your space, style, and budget. We'll select the most resilient plants and materials for your conditions, creating a garden that looks good even when you're too busy to notice.

Start Your Design