What homeowner wouldn't want a lush and colorful garden just outside the window? But while a garden definitely boosts your home's curb appeal, it also claims a lot of your free time. There's no such thing as a maintenance-free garden, but choosing low maintenance plants does cut down on the amount of pruning and watering required.
So, the next time you plant, try some of these lovely options that take care of themselves. Then get ready to enjoy your new low maintenance landscaping—from the comfort of your porch swing:
Ribbon Grass
Though it does best with moist soil and partial sun, pest- and disease-free ribbon grass thrives in virtually any growing scenario—full sun or shade, wet soil or dry. Though it rarely gets taller than one foot, ribbon grass quickly spreads across even steeply sloped terrain, either to your frustration or delight, depending on your aims.
Forsythia
Forsythias are early bloomers whose yellow flowers signal the start of spring. To ensure your forsythia is in top form, you'll want to prune the bush occasionally and plant it in full sunlight.
Vinca Minor (Periwinkle)
Also called periwinkle, vinca minor is one of the most low maintenance flowering plants you could ever plant in your garden. This trailing variety is used as a ground cover to suppress weeds and add evergreen beauty. The plant produces purple blooms throughout spring and summer.
Texas Ranger
The vibrant lavender, purple, and magenta blooms of a Texas ranger may look like they take some work to care for—but we won't tell the neighbors your secret. This hardy plant is built to survive on little water, so all you need to do is plant it in full sunlight, and water during the summers or in times of drought.
Yew
There's a reason why these evergreen low maintenance shrubs are a popular choice for borders and entryways. Their tolerance for drought coupled with their ability to adapt to almost any soil type makes for easy care. Yews thrive in partial to full sun in Zones 4 to 8 and reward you with beautiful (but inedible) fruits in early autumn.
Barberry
There's a reason you see this shrub in many corporate landscaping schemes: Barberry is extremely low maintenance, yet it stuns with seasonal color. Ideal for foundation plantings or hedges, barberry can tolerate many soil types. The plant needs occasional pruning, but not much more than that in the way of regular care.
Bergenia
You can count on bergenia to grow in almost any condition, sunny or shaded, and its dark, broad leaves bring beauty to the yard. If you want yours to flower, be sure to position them in full sun to increase the chance of pink and magenta blooms in spring.
Blue Mist Spirea (Bluebeard)
Heat-resistant, drought-resistant and deer-resistant, this hardy pollinator plant does well in full sun to partial shade. The low-maintenance shrub sends forth blue flowers in summer, and needs little more than seasonal pruning to keep it growing strong.
Indian Hawthorn
A small and slow-growing evergreen shrub, Indian Hawthorn stays neat and tidy without pruning. It’s not fussy about soil, and once established, it will tolerate moderate drought. It bursts forth in spring with pink or white clusters of flowers, which give way to dark blue berries that attract birds and other wildlife the rest of the year.
Dianthus
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