Maintaining a lovely lawn takes a lot of time and effort. It can be frustrating to spend hours each week mowing, watering, and fertilizing your yard to keep it looking presentable. Wouldn’t it be great if there were low-maintenance plants that could help you achieve the same effect?

The first step in choosing low-maintenance plants is to follow the “right plant-right location” approach. Growing a sun-loving shrub in the shade, for example, may result in a plant that will live but not thrive, increasing the chances of it succumbing to disease, developing longer, weaker branches, and requiring greater trimming to maintain its form and size.

To relax and enjoy your lovely green lawn, look for plants that don’t require staking, regular deadheading, frequent division, intricate trimming, or excessive watering. Some of our favorites are listed here.

Creeping Thyme:

Home chefs and lazy landscapers both love creeping thyme. This fragrant—and edible—perennial ground cover requires warmth and occasional watering. Its hardiness and drought resistance make it a good lawn substitute, and its delicate white blossoms attract butterflies.

Blue Chalk:

Senecio Serpens, often known as blue chalk, is an exotic and lovely garden border or lawn plant that features a distinct shade of frosty blue.

This low-maintenance plant won’t mind if you don’t have time to water it. Once planted, it can resist drought and requires minimal water during the growing season. A low-growing succulent is ideal for rock gardens or arid regions with vibrant colors.

Vinca Minor:

Vinca minor, sometimes known as periwinkle, is one of the most low-maintenance blooming plants you can grow in your yard. This trailing species minimizes weeds and gives evergreen beauty to the landscape. Vinca minor produces purple blossoms all through the spring and summer.

Winter Daphne:

What more would you want than an evergreen plant with lovely, yellow-edged leaves and wonderfully scented white blossoms in the winter?

Winter daphne can repay you a hundredfold if grown in full sun or filtered sun with well-draining soil. You can cut a few branches to bring inside during the winter as a single cluster of blossoms may fill a whole room with fragrance.

Clover:

Clover was formerly thought to be a weed, but it’s rather useful as a lawn plant. It produces nitrogen, which enriches the soil and aids in the growth of other plants. Because of the extra nitrogen, the lawn stays green even in dry conditions.

You can also use micro clover, a type with small leaves. It doesn’t blossom, but it is harder to walk on and requires less maintenance.

‘Tina’ Sargent Crabapple:

Malus sargentii ‘Tina’, a naturally dwarf Flowering Crab Apple, delivers a spring floral show that rivals any bigger Crab Apple tree. In the fall, the cluster of white blooms with yellow anthers is followed by berry-like red fruits. These crab apples are popular with birds, who consume them before they fall to the ground – a trait highly appreciated by people who want a clean lawn!

Ornamental Grasses:

Ornamental grasses are a no-brainer, offering plenty of advantages, including pest and disease resistance. Try evergreen ornamentals like Calamagrostis x acutiflora for year-round color.

If you are still short on time and want a beautiful lawn with low-maintenance plants, you can contact the professionals at Against the Elements, LLC in Whitmore Lake, MI. We have experience creating custom care programs for each customer to maintain their lawn lush and blooming for many years.