The Lazy Gardener

By Christa Kenefick of theshinybuttons

I am a self-proclaimed lazy gardener! I manage a garden center and spend a great deal of time watering and taking care of plants at work. After a crazy busy spring or sticky summer day, the last thing I want to do is come home and take care of my garden!

More and more I hear from customers who want to plant a low maintenance garden. A balanced garden including shrubs, evergreens, perennials and annuals is the best way to achieve yearlong interest, high impact color and low maintenance with the right plant choices. The shrubs and perennials will be the “bones” of the garden with annuals being the best and longest lasting color.

There is a misconception that annuals require a lot of work but I find them to be lower maintenance than perennials. Yes, you do plant them every year, but spend a few hours planting, use a slow release fertilizer, water the plants occasionally to help them become established, and that is it. They are not hardy, but bloom all summer until the first frost and little cleanup is necessary. Best of all, you can change up your design year after year keeping your yard from getting boring. Bordering the front of your beds is a great way to add a huge impact of color or tuck a few here and there to change things up a bit.

The following are some of my favorite plants that are drought tolerant (once established), bloom a long time, and require little to no maintenance. My kind of plants!

Annuals:
Tidal Wave Petunias - this annual is the biggest bang for your buck. They spread like crazy and get taller than the traditional wave petunias. Tidal Wave Silver is my personal favorite color.

Lobularia ‘Snow Princess’ - This was introduced last year and blooms a short mound of tiny white flowers from early spring into late fall. It has to be the longest blooming annual I have ever seen! Mine was blooming past Halloween last year.

Lantana - I like the spreading varieties. They cover a tremendous amount of ground and just love it hot and dry. If you can’t water, this is the plant for you.

State Fair Zinnias and Cosmos - are great seeds that are easy to mix with your taller perennials. The get fairly tall, but sprinkling seeds and watering to get established is all you have to do.

Perennials:
Leucanthemum ‘Becky’ - a three foot daisy that spreads and divides easily.

Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ - a traditional black-eyed-susan

Echinacea (many different varieties)

Coneflowers - These have been huge in the plant breeding world lately. They are no longer just the traditional pink, but come in oranges, yellows, reds, whites and doubles.

Heuchera (Coral Bells) - Mostly desired for their foliage colors which range from black, green, purples, silvers, oranges, maroon, peach and chartreuse. Some varieties are for shade and others for sun, so ask a gardener or reliable salesperson.

Shrubs:
Hydrangeas - There are many different varieties divided into three groups. The macrophylla types are big leafed, mop-head type flowers and do best with afternoon shade, the paniculata types have white conical flowers that can change to a dusty pink as they dry and are best in full sun and finally the oakleaf types which also have white conical flowers with large tropical looking leaves shaped like leaves of Oak trees. The oakleaf hydrangeas work well in sun or shade.

Butterfly Bushes - A lot of recent breeding is going into these reducing the size of the plant and maintaining the long lasting blooms. Flower colors range from dark purple, pink, light blue, light purple, yellow and white and plant sizes range from 3 feet to 8 feet tall.

Knock Out Roses - Not the typical rose! These are shrubs that bloom from May until late November and love it hot and dry. They are very disease resistant and come in red, pink, light pink, yellow and a pink with a yellow center.