I tried for two years putting together this zero maintenance flower bed. My wife thinks this just looks like a mess now. This is half of the flower bed. The other side, to the right, is identical other than a gold mound on the corner where the blue mist is here. I have a stone path way in the center of the two sides. The alliums have bloomed since this picture and the speedwell are well on their way to blooming.
What would you guys change to improve this? I’m zone 7.
by Tomhanzo2
38 Comments
yeah doesn’t look good, can’t see any mulch and it comes across like you just have weeds. I can see how some of these would look good on their own but not when bunched up together like this
It looks like a mess.
Depends on who you ask, I see a really great ecosystem.
I would agree it’s a mess , but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad. Seems crowded with similar colour and shape. I would add vertical plantings with contrast (reds, yellows). Also cut back some plants to create more defined separation, and cut the grass.
If you put some sort of rock path or something in front, and made the rock wall a couple rows higher, it would look more intentional. At a glance it does not look very intentional. Wife is right—always ha
ETA: There is so much potential behind it. Get some big, wicker chairs with cushions or a swing [maybe railing]. Don’t rip this out. It just needs some snazzing up. Like, a little trellis and a climbing vine like clematis or honeysuckle?
i think it looks cool but one thing you could do to appease your wife and make it look “cleaner” is to reduce the number of species here. pick 2-3 plants that are doing well and look good together, and make the whole bed only those. that will give this garden a more cohesive atmosphere
That’s a garden that a lot of gardeners wish they could have. Unfortunately you have zero structure.
You need anchor plants, like big shrubs, or large statues/pots, to give your garden structure and then you fill in around it.
This looks like a shady spot so maybe put like 3 hydrangeas lined up in a row. Or a rhododendron with a hydrangea on each side. Then rearrange the hostas and columbines accordingly around those anchor plants. I don’t know what kind of groundcover you have (or if those are weeds) but pull those away from the hostas and columbines to let them breathe. You may not even need that groundcover at all. If you’re set on having groundcover, I recommend finding one that won’t bully/smush other perennials and easy to control, like chrysogonum pierre.
If you want some variation in color and leaf texture, get a couple black or red coral bells, and a couple golden/chartreuse hakonechloa. They will stand out against all the green. In zone 7 the coral bells will do fine in pots so you can plop them strategically for some additional structure/focus points.
I love lush gardens and you have a wonderful space to work with here. You just need places for your eyes to focus on. Don’t give up on it!
Edit: oh, the groundcover is speedwell, ha! Yeah that stuff grows vigorously so you do need to control it.
I get where you are going as a fellow cottage gardener but it does look a little overgrown and crowded.
You need a nice backbone with some taller structured shrubs across the back. A lot of yours are mound forming plants so they just look all clumped together without any mix in the shapes. I also try not to lay them all out in striaght lines but prefer clumps of the same plant in odd numbers set in triangles.
Some plants you should think about…
A backbone of boxwoods or small holly or inkberry. Not sure how high you want to go. Inkberry are native.
Tall cottage plants include bee balm, coneflowers, turtlehead, hollyhocks, Foxglove (base is mounding but the flowers are vertical) daylilies.
What is the exposure here? The good news is that you can remove some of these to pots while you re-group a new plan and then pop them back in.
At a minimum, just remove some of them, to use elsewhere, add dark mulch and see how your wife likes it without all the crowding.
I am sure other people will have some plant suggestions but these are my goto cottage perennials.
I like cottage, but this looks messy. The “wall” is the biggest issue. It’s irregular, so it doesn’t create structure, and the plants in the bed are also irregular and lack structure. I’d replace the wall. Then think about the plants in the bed. Nothing flowers constantly, so think about heights, textures and colors of foliage and when they bloom (if applicable). Look for plants with a neater mound or spear shape and less of a ramble. This isn’t a super deep bed, so you probably have room for two rows, staggered. Echinacea, rudbeckia, iris and peonies are all nice hardworking perennials, though you may have to divide the irises now and then. You might also consider a dwarf hydrangea across the whole span. I haven’t used those, but they may be structured enough on their own not to need a defined wall.
I don’t get why people are saying this is a mess. To me this is what it should look like. Rather than the odd flower and 90% soil. It looks natural and the more I zoom in and look the more I see and like it. Maybe it’s preference but I’d kill to have this.
I would be more bothered by these windows.
I love the idea of just plants covering the ground. Helps with weeds. I like other peoples idea of adding more height and texture variety.
I would not have visible mulch or gravel as a goal. A garden bed is for plants. Just mix it up a bit. And make the wall separating it from the grass bigger so it looks more deliberate. From a distance it does just look like an old weedy bed.
Do not fall for the lure of gravel with plants!!!
Ultimate life lesson if you want to stay married:
Wife is’ ALWAYS RIGHT- even when she is wrong. Another way to look at it, is that « a husband is wrong, even when he is right»….
We will support you, as belong as our wives don’t find out.
Not enough height differences… variety is the spice of life
I like it, but instead of aiming for zero maintenance, maybe go for low maintenance. The lawn in front of the rocks can be trimmed up a bit. Cut back a little bit of the overflow in the front and keep the top row of patio bricks visible. Keep the concept the same but make the choices feel more intentional. Maybe bring in some yellow and other colors to break up all the green variations.
I’m a messy gardener who doesn’t like straight lines, so I like it! I do think you could add some shrubs for some diversity and winter interest.
I tend to err towards natives. I was just appreciating the flowering currant in my garden as I was hacking it back some today. It’s nice that you can shape it and it still looks good.
I hate mulch but I do top dress with compost. It helps to have it look more tidy and also feeds your plants.
I’m kinda working on the same thing. When I zoom in and look at it I really love it. But zoomed out it doesn’t have much structure. Agree with the comments to add some taller plants or some trellis plants.
Hear me out. A more defined wall to give it more separation from the lawn. Maybe draw it out on paper so you can get a better idea for what you’re trying to do as well.
You can create some structure in the bed to give things their own but also combined space?
I think the main issue is that it seems to be spreading to your yard so, it’s a “why do we even have a garden” kind of feeling.
Our favorite things aren’t even really in the garden bc our garden is now more shrubs and larger plants with some occasional plants like dahlias or other annuals.
Our smaller plants are in pots with seasonal flowers. And then I have a retaining wall that has a large drop off so, I chaos seed wild flowers there every year. The frost kills like 90% of them but some come back in the spring. I mainly do it for the pollinators along with our feeders.
Unless you know your plants and what you’re looking at it comes across as unkempt. Consider some ‘negative’ space by reducing the ground cover, then mass planting of the alliums, introducing some summer bulbs/tubers.
I’m in zone 7A, and all I would change is to tweak your no-maintenance rule to pull the creeping charlie, and I wouldn’t mind hiding the bricks on the left side of the photo as they’re hidden on the right. With the alliums bloomed that’s a bit more height variance, which was going to be my other note, a lot of things of similar heights crashing into each other but still looks good and certainly better than a sea of mulch.
Fuck that I like it.
I personally like it but if there were some more color and a couple larger shrubs would be solid
Are there ever any different colors in bloom?
I think one thing that would really help is just adding in a midsize edge in front of the wall that really defines everything
‘‘tis a wee bit unkempt.
There are a few weeds in there. Knotweed and bittercress. Pulling all the weeds out should help.
Perhaps some bright seasonal bloomers would lighten it up.
Also having some mulch covered space between plantings may help it look more “clean” and intentional.
Keep going!
Looks like some purple flowers overtaken by weeds
Am I crazy for thinking this is gorgeous? This is literally goals for me lol
No garden is “zero maintenance “
Need a variety of leaf size and shape, and shape of plant. A couple tall and narrow like coneflower, some grasses, like Gramma or little blue stem. Right now looks mostly all the same.
Yes. Doesn’t matter of she’s ACTUALLY right, but if she hates it she hates it
Source: Married 21 years
My 2 cents. Redo the wall with care. Thoughtful smaller rocks that fit together nicely & will look good always. Terrace it to be more aligned with the deck, lower than it but the same flatness, use a level. So you will see more of the wall as it will be higher, especially where it slopes down more. If doing yourself just keep working on it till it looks great to you & hopefully wife, focus on maintaining a nice line on the face and curves. You’ve already got the elements where the rocks are more stacked and curved at the end. Then plant that garden bed out, it will already look orderly before you start.
Just tidy it up a bit.
1. A yard rake will definitely not make a dent in your creeping charlie. Especially some that is that out of control and established. Especially Especially not if you live in zone 7. You will need to hand dig it out over multiple years, over and over and over again.
2. Your wife is right. Your garden looks visually a mess.
3. I work as a gardener in the summer and there is no such thing as a no maintenance garden. There is a no maintenance weed patch that used to be a garden. A no maintenance road ditch full of flowers, scrub shrubs and weeds. A no maintenance wild field but no such thing as a no maintenance garden. Low maintenance maybe. If it was very well planned out from the beginning.
5. Weeds will grow in any garden and dead material and overgrowth will always need to be tended to if you want an attractive ornamental garden and not a wild field.
4. Never plant any sort of creeping plant if you want a low maintenance garden. Many are invasive and simply take over and make gardens look a mess. Especially in warmer climates with longer seasons.
5. You need some kind of separation between the plants to improve the messy look your wife is complaining about. Remove creeping charlie and thin out any other plants that have spread or over grown their spot.
6. Most people over plant. They do not consider mature sizes of years down the road in favour of a nicer more filled out garden at time of planting. That means you usually need to move or remove some plants as the garden matures.
7. Lastly lightly prune any messy shrubs, plants etc. No plant grows perfectly, especially if deer are visiting. Plants get stems broken from wind, animals etc. Prune broken or ill growing stems. Shrubs grow thin and messy where less light reaches the stems etc. Shape and tidy the shrubs if needed. Remove dead wood. There is much to do in any garden if you want it to look visually pleasing. Wild gardens just become a wild field with no tending. Good luck with the garden makeover.
I think it looks nice. Just keep your grass trimmed and it will look more intentional.
Bro your wife is always right if you want a happy marriage.
Sweet potato vine for a bright lime green and Purple Heart for a deep purple, would break up the green-green-everywhere. Both creep and spread to fill a space.
You have beautiful plants but they all look weedy bc there’s no structure like a boxwood or topiary, there’s no variance in color really (you can find white, lime, purple, ans blue green foliage), and there’s no rest for the eyes