Help your clients give the illusion of a perfectly manicured yard with these easy steps for sprucing up greenery from HouseLogic.
Create accents with rocks. They don’t require the same level of care, water, and sunlight that grass and plants do. Rocks are good tools for forming pathways, adding design elements, or creating dry creek beds. Spots in the yard that collect water can be kept under control with rocks, which aid water runoff.
Use colorful objects instead of flowers. Benches, birdbaths, pots, and chairs can all be used to add color to your landscape without planting flowers, which require regular maintenance. Try adding a couple of yellow ceramic flower pots—without the flowers—for decoration.
Have a rain garden. Turn that mushy chunk of yard into a rain garden—a small wetland area that looks a lot better than soggy grass. Comprised of gravel, sand, and native plants, these rainfall gathering spaces are almost maintenance-free: no mowing, watering or major weeding needed. Rain gardens help reduce stormwater runoff into the sewer system and instead utilize the water for plant life.
Build a platform deck. Without steps or railings, a platform deck is an easy yard booster. Ipe, cedar, redwood, and other composites make for long-lasting, low-maintenance hardwoods, according to Tomi Landis, president of Landis Garden Design in Washington, D.C. Landis also challenges how homeowners use their decks. “Will you be using it in the morning while having coffee?” Landis says. “If so, it should be oriented to the east. If it’s mainly for dining out in the evening and having cocktails, it should be facing west.”
Plant tall grass. Tall grasses grow quickly and don’t need much maintenance. These include switchgrass, bluestem, muhly, and fountaingrass. The taller grasses soak up water, serve as an organic privacy shade, and can even be used as mulch.
Source: "Super Simple Ideas for People Who Hate Yard Work," HouseLogic
