Lovell Te Whaiti from Optic Landscaping shares his advice on low-maintenance gardens as a way to save time and money.
“The majority of homeowners who want to have a low-maintenance garden are those who work 65 hours a week, or they’ve retired, or they’re not as mobile as they used to be,” Lovell says.
For choosing plants, Lovell says to focus on both low-care and aesthetic factors.
“It depends on the aggregate that the the customer wants, such as different kinds of mulch and the the colour contrast of the garden. I do try and stick to a lot of the grasses, like the testacea, mondo grass and phormium [flax],” Lovell says.
Another important thing Lovell says to consider as part of a low-maintenance garden is the types of trees and surrounding plants that can contribute to falling leaves and residual waste on the ground. This may add extra work when tidying up your garden, especially in the autumn months.
To avoid added maintenance, Lovell says “anything low growing is good.”
