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Low Maintenance – Big Impact Perennials

Don’t let a lack of time, energy or space stop you from growing perennials.  Instead select and grow low maintenance plants with big impact. 

Start with your design.  Once you develop your plan, cut the number of different perennials in half and double the number of each.  You will have fewer perennials to identify as they emerge in spring, less maintenance to learn and bigger impact.

Edge your beds to keep unwanted grass out of the bed and make managing the surrounding lawn much easier. I dig a small trench around the edge of my gardens and fill with woodchips.

Always select plants suited to your climate, soil and natural rainfall.  You’ll have healthier and more beautiful plants with much less work.

Look for perennials that require no staking and little or no deadheading.  Avoid those that reseed, are aggressive and do not plant perennials that tend to escape the garden and invade our natural spaces.

A bit more information:  Use color to help increase the impact without increasing the number of plants.  Warm colors of red, orange and yellow grab your attention. Repeat colors, known as color echoing, from one plant to another to provide unity and balance.  Use complementary colors, those across from each other on the artist color wheel, like red and green and blue and yellow to create a focal point.

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