Modern design doesn’t have to involve an army of certified landscape artists and architects. In fact, your only enemy might not be the lack of design skills but the free time to manage your garden.
When we think “modern” we usually tend to think of straight lines, well maintained and fresh-looking additions. The whole point of garden design is to make things grow – and when things grow they tend to get out of control when you don’t tend to them.
If you don’t have a long amount of free time to care for a garden when you get out of the office, there are some options that will make gardening and garden design easy for you. Even if you garden as a hobby, some gardening tips will let you save valuable time and make your garden manageable.
For a fresh and modern feel
If you have a modern home and want to have a garden that matches, a good option to consider are easy-maintenance plants like decorative grasses or bamboos.
When you combine minimalistic raw concrete or gravel paths, plants like these will carry on the simple aesthetic from grey to green, without changing the feel. They are not messy, they don’t require a lot of water, and they almost make more of a fashion statement than they do a landscaping statement.
Another great plant that screams “modern” is a horsetail. This plant goes way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and look like something out of this world.
Although raised beds are the thing of modern organic farming, consider sleek concrete raised planters to highlight your minimalistically designed outdoor space. It’s a great accent near a geometric water feature.
For a productive low-maintenance vegetable garden
If you don’t have all the time in the world to prune, weed, fertilize, and well – to live in your garden but still want to grow a productive vegetable plot for your family, you are not out of options!
There are a few ideas that will make up for the time you can’t be out in your garden. Permaculture is a great way of helping you not only save on water and fertilizer but also time. This might mean that your garden won’t be picture perfect – but it will be productive.
The idea of permaculture is to build up nutrients in the soil layer by layer by using straw, dead weeds and compost – pretty soon you won’t need to weed or water as much.
This method of farming can be brought indoors to your greenhouse too. If you have raised beds, this method will keep them less thirsty than your perfectly trimmed and weeded vegetable patches.
A greenhouse itself is a great help for any vegetable grower – below is an infographic from Greenhouse Stores that will show you what greenhouse will work best for your garden.
The permaculture style might be “messy”, but it reflects the new “modern” of gardening – going back to nature and working with it to provide the best environment for us, as well as beneficial insects and native plants.
