How Landscaping Can Save you Hundreds!

Recently I was talking to my uncle as well as other landscape professionals on how to select low maintenance plants and low maintenance landscaping techniques to reduce the amount of mowing area, time on the mower and trimming the yard. Not only are these plants beautiful and great to have but they can save you hundreds in mowing and lawn maintenance. 

Hostas in Shady Areas: There are a variety of hostas to chose from. My uncle a self-proposed hosta-holic loves them. Check out my Tiktok JHottleRealEstate if you want to see me tour his hostas! Hostas skin is as sensitive as ours is to the sun so they really need all or mostly shade. This makes them great for darker, damp areas that turn to dirt where grass will not grow and also makes them great to plant all around trees and limit the amount of mowing and trimming needed on your properties. 

Ornamental "no-mow" grasses in Large Fields: If you have a large courtyard or field that costs a fourtane to mow or ends up being a catch all for all your tenants stuff there are some ways to make it beautiful and maintenance free! In Iowa we have many non-profits and programs that may help bring field or lawn grown back to its original prairie look. Even without any programs it can be an easy weekend project to turnover the grass and plant prairie grasses if your area allows. This brings some beauty to your area, may attract some cool birds, detours tenants from leaving stuff in the yard, and most importantly you will save tons of money on lawn upkeep.

Ornamental grasses in sunny spots: Another way to use small bunches of ornamental grasses is in landscaping beds along the houses that get lots of sun. They usually do not mind the sun and can add some color to your rock beds. If you get partial sun Day lillys can also be a great addition.

Rock Beds around House and hard to mow areas: I like turning all hard to mow areas between house and sidewalk or garage and house into low maintenance rock beds. Although maybe not the most appealing I use 1/4 or 1/2 road rock from the local quarry to fill my beds. After putting landscape paper down I throw the rock down. The smaller, tighter rock allows for less weeds to find a place to grow and when they do come through they are smaller and easier to spray or pull. The road rock also gives a clean, modern, industrial look which I like. To add some color I put hostas in shady areas of these beds and ornamental grasses in sunny areas of these beds.