Okay, not lazy, but time-conscious.
Your dreams of a well-tended garden need not take a crazy amount of chore time. You can lighten the gardening load with a few clever tricks.
If you want to spend more time enjoying your garden rather than maintaining it, take a peek at our time-saving gardening tips:
Start with a plan
Take a moment or 10 before you plunge into the doing. Start by creating a plan of what needs to be planted and pruned.
Keep it simple at the start if you’re a gardening newbie – it can be tempting to attempt to recreate your favourite Pinterest gardens, but map out what needs to be done to get there and start with the smaller steps.
You can always build it up as you go.
Organise your tools
Whether you have an entire shed or a little bag full, an obvious but important tip is to get your tools in order before you need them. This includes your tools, pots, compost, fertiliser, etc. You’ll then have a clear idea of when you need to head to the garden centre for replacements.
Make sure your tools are clean and sharp. Using worn out and broken ones means your gardening is bound to take more time. And stash your tools somewhere close to your garden for easy access.
Choose low-maintenance plants
This goes back to the point about starting small. The plants you choose can have varying degrees of maintenance, but start your gardening efforts by choosing those that are easier to care for.
Native plants are easier to look after, as they’re used to the local climate. Also, plants that don’t require much watering and thrive on their own will mean a beautiful looking garden which can stand a bit of neglect.
Save the more exotic plants for when you have more time.
Group plants with similar needs together
On that point, bear plant-keeping requirements in mind. If you group your plants together based on their needs, you’ll save a ton of time during maintenance.
Use slow-release fertiliser
Time-based fertilisers should be your new best friend.
Self-watering containers
Yep, they exist. And you can make them yourselves.
Mulching
Strategic mulching will save you so much precious time in the long run. Sure, it seems like a lot of work at first, but you’ll be glad you got it done come springtime. There are plenty of gardening services in London you can turn to for mulching expertise.
Have a source of water nearby
An obvious one – but you’d be surprised how easily this can be overlooked. Save yourself the time and trouble of hauling in hose pipes from afar by introducing a tap into your garden.