Australians have an enduring love affair with backyards. They represent an iconic and important part of the laid back, outdoor lifestyle that is such a part of the Australian identity. However, with busy modern lives, the backyard sometimes doesn't get the care and attention that it needs to stay healthy, thriving and looking great.
If this sounds like your backyard, then you'll be pleased to know that there is an answer to this problem. With some small alterations, you can have a backyard that requires very little maintenance, which means you can spend more of your free time enjoying your backyard instead of completing gardening chores. Here are two great ways to give your backyard a fuss-free, low maintenance makeover.
1. Add mulch to your garden beds
Mulch is an organic material that's generally made from bark or sugar cane. Adding a dense layer of it to your garden beds is an excellent way to reduce the amount of gardening you need to do. Mulch protects the soil from extremes of hot and cold weather, helps the soil to retain water, and adds nutrients to enrich the soil as the organic matters decomposes over time.
As well as being a highly practical and functional addition, mulch can also give your garden a rapid and effective makeover. Fresh mulch adds colour and texture to your garden beds, ties the different areas of the garden together and helps to highlight the plants within the beds.
2. Replace your needy lawn with fresh turf
The lawn area of the garden generally covers the largest surface area. Fittingly, the lawn is often the most needy part of the garden, too, and it can become fairly sad, patchy and unsightly without plenty of attention. Weeding, mowing, watering and fertilising are just a few of the many lawn care tasks involved with maintaining a healthy, standard lawn.
Replacing your old lawn with a low-maintenance turf variety will slash your lawn care time significantly. Opt for a hardy, drought-resistant variety such as Buffalo or Zoysia, which require very little water and are also slow-growing. These turf varieties also have dense foliage, which deters weed growth and stands up to heavy wear and tear.
If these ideas sound like a great way to give your garden a fresh look and make it easier to care for, contact your local gardening service contractor. They can lay your mulch and your new turf in a professional manner, and you can also enlist their help for regular garden maintenance that will free up even more of your spare time.