Lawns are high maintenance, needing regular cutting in the growing season. Shrubs and trees are low maintenance, with some needing a prune only once or twice a year. Potted plants are high maintenance, needing regular watering. Maintaining a garden should be enjoyable, so if you find it a chore, maybe you just want paving or ground cover and borders with shrubs and trees.

One option, if you would like to keep the curves in the wall and steps, is to lay cut and trimmed breeze blocks, that are then rendered. With a paving slab on top its a useful seat, (I’d raise the wall to 18’’ 45cm all around your patio) and the render can then be painted to match the porcelain….you could then decide whether you wanted a bed beyond the slab seat or another slab to create a shelf for a few pots.

To cut down on maintenance in the beds generally, then I find a roll of weed suppressant with a deep layer of gravel or bark works, or my preferred option is to plant profusely so weeds can’t survive. geranium roxanne or similar and shubs like choysia sundance that can be trimmed hard back to form a colourful hedge all year.

Really pretty garden. I got rid of my grass as my dogs had totally ruined it, so you could create another seating area where the grass is and pave that or gravel it. I find my garden is much easier to look after now there’s no mowing. You could plant evergreen shrubs which need very little attention. Make the paving interesting by edging it with brick pavers. As well as Porcelain have a look at sandstone paving which has a more rustic cottagey look which may suit your garden better, unless of course you want a more contemporary look. It may also be a good idea to get a garden designer to draw something up for you. Many designers will do plans only. A Designer may have some good ideas. Lastly, once your garden is done, it may be a good idea to get in a gardener to maintain it for you. Due to health reasons I employ a gardener now and as I have no lawn she visits on an ad hoc basis as I need her.

Hi there

I hear you on the low maintenance!

First things first - decide what you want to do in the garden - eg Dining area, low seating, lawn for sunbathing etc etc.

Zone the garden for each activity, making sure you leave enough space for generous steps.

Don't minimise the beds - just cut down on the different varieties in each bed - block planting will be easier to maintain, for example a contemporary looking bed Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa) looks good for 9 months, and in the other three you can have low maintenance bulbs. Put a multi-stem shrub in the centre and you have a cracking bed. The raised bed on the LHS of the phot could be filled with Pachysandra and you have green all year, with practically zero maintenance. Also, get rid of the pots - they are high maintenance to keep looking good, and usually end up looking mismatched and scratty.....

Porcelain is lovely, but expensive to buy and install - consider self binding gravel or gravel on a grid for terraces to keep the cost down, with porcelain strips maybe for interest, and porcelain steps. It is worth asking a professional to help you, as this will save you time and money in the long run if you are unsure as to the direction you want to go in.

If you are in the Westcountry - get in touch for a consultation!

Have you ever had the patio power washed? it makes such an amazing difference you may not need to change it. Relatively cheap too.

I just wanted to thank you all for your advice which is really helpful. It's funny isn't it, attending to pots and cutting the lawn I see as easy gardening, it's attending to all the plants and cutting back the trees and bushes and weeding that I see as harder work hence wanting to make that easier. I have jet washed the patio before but it never came up very good as the soil drops from the border edges (need to make those higher to stop that) and the patio also needs repointing (I did that myself a couple of years ago but it didn't last very well). I'm busy working today but will spend time at the weekend, the next Bank Holiday looking at your advice properly and may be in touch Deborah. Thanks all again and have a good day.

I think this garden appears to have a good basic structure with sound hard landscaping. If you are on a restricted budget I wouldn't even consider replacing the paving and walls as this will do little to alleviate the maintenance situation. Going forward this would be my action plan for this space

1 The patio and steps professionally pressure washed and repointed. Then have it all sealed with a matt sealant to reduce the growth of black algea. If you wanted to  take a more economical approach you could use Patio Magic or similar to clean up the patio over a period of time. As the paving looks fairly porous this may take several applications just be patient. Then have it repointed and sealed. You could invest in a large outdoor rug to go under the patio set to brighten the area up for the Summer.

2 Make sure the lawn is a simple curved shape where it adjoins the borders ie no fussy waves or curves. This will help with ease of mowing. Install Everedge metal mowing strip or a brick mowing edge that allows the mower to run over. This will eliminate the need for lawn edging each time the lawn is mowed. A twice yearly bit of attention may be required to maintain neatness here. 

3 Remove all the bitty perennials and bulbs from the borders which need constant weeding around and invest a BIG chunk of your budget in ground cover plants. Buy large numbers of each and plant in big drifts at the recommended spacing or slightly closer to get faster complete soil coverage. Be bold here for best effect.  Create interest by using contrasting leaf shapes alongside each other and keep well watered for the first 18 months at least to get good strong growth. Good plants to use are 

Pachysandra terminals

Epimedium varieties 

Heuchera

Low growing fern varieties especially evergreens

Hellebore varieties 

Carex varieties

Hackonechloa varieties

Very low growing conifers

Cotoneaster dammeri

or for drier sunny spots

Heather varieties 

Trailing rosemary

Thyme

Alpines

The aim here is to have all the soil covered in time. Apply a mulch a finely chipped bark or similar to reduce weeds while this happens. Lots of these plants will grow over the wall top and down the sides to create a simpler appearance and stop soil erosion onto the patio. 

4 Where the borders are wider plant a specimen shrub of your choice noting its mature growth size to eliminate need of constant pruning to keep it in its alloted space. Again underplant with large groups of ground cover plants in same variety. 

5 Add seasonal colour/interest with groups of pots containing bulbs and annuals on the patio or in gaps in the borders whilst filling in. Don't overdo this though or the garden will look fussy and high maintenance again. 

6 Invest in some all weather loungers and cushions to encourage you out to chill and enjoy your outdoor space. ὠ9