Gardens with nothing in them?

[BigDahliaFan]

Would you not at least put a low maintenance shrub in? I mean not everyone wants full on Monty Don....but something?

I do find it weird.

My small garden is paved but has beds filled with subtropical type plants - ferns and palms and climbers etc. Requires almost no maintenance and looks good.

Weeds are some of the best plants! At least where wildlife is concerned...

And the dislike of "bugs". Wtf?! Insect life is only massively essential to the survival of all life on this planet! You don't get swallows or bats without "bugs".

But anyhoo....If you want the world's most low maintenance garden that's still good for wildlife, this is what you can do: Plant some fruit trees (2 each of the same kind, if you want fruit. Pruning in the winter is good if you want a decent amount of fruit, but not essential). Keep the rest as grass, but: Cut once in late February, rake the grass off (scarify if possible), throw some wildflower seed down. Leave all summer (mow paths in it if you want). Cut again in late August, clippings off again. Rinse and repeat.

Weeds are brilliant plants! They are wildflowers with less good PR.
I must admit to a chuckle about the poster who hates gardens but loves art. I can just imagine her shielding her eyes when she encounters a Monet or a Van Gogh.

I judge if it's concreted over or has fake grass. Otherwise it's good for wildlife regardless of attractiveness.

I'm late 40s and have recently created a wildlife garden from scratch. I watched a lot of Love Your Garden in lockdown and it inspired me. I've taken a barren oblong and split it into zones with raises beds, a rose arch and a hidden area with veg patch. Nearly everything I've planted is good for pollinators. I've bought mostly bare roots plants to keep costs down and they are flourishing. I've also dug in a barrel pond. I've planted a hedge pack from the Woodland Trust made up of native species It's been a really exciting project and the birds love my garden now.

I feel it's really important to try to do our bit for wildlife by planting at least something for pollinators and birds.

For reference... I'm a single working parent but this garden is quite low-maintainance .

Yeah - not where gardening's concerned. Unless you enjoy bindweed (yes very pretty flower. Pretty bad for the plants it strangles) mares' tail, willowherb, bitter cress, creeping buttercup, plantain,couch grass, goose grass, ground elder etc etc, all of which were in magnificent health and abundance when we took on our garden. Years down the line, they have mainly been beaten into submission, though my neighbours are happy to give me new supplies- and do.

Wildlife does very well without them and there's plenty of natural habitat, wildlife pond, trees, wild(er)area with nettles, varied plants, often self seeded, and so on.
I don't like manicured gardens but the notion that weeds are just another plant isnt one I share, as far as gardening goes!

I recommend the book Brilliant and Wild by Lucy Bellamy.

And the dislike of "bugs". Wtf?! Insect life is only massively essential to the survival of all life on this planet! You don't get swallows or bats without "bugs".

Or most food crops.

I’m under 40 and gardening is my passion- I could spend hours out there. I work ft and have young kids but when it’s not a chore to you it’s easy to fit in little bits in spare moments. People may assume from my formal rose hedge in the front that my house is immaculate but it’s pretty messy indoors due to my obsession with plants…

I was a keen gardener until my DS was old enough to play football. Then I planted shrubs and left it. DS is now 19, I’ve just turned 60, and we remodelled the garden with raised beds covered in slate for easy maintenance. I am now at the stage I can start planting more delicate plants that aren’t going to be battered by a football.
I love to plant pots with non hardy annuals but again a waste of time with DC around.

I also have lots more time after retiring. I’m in no rush so it may take a couple of years to collect the plants I want.

It’s like returning to an old friend.

This thread seems like the garden is yet another task that has been created to appease the judgmental people. So let me see, I need to have an important challenging fulltime job, with children who are academic and sporty and popular whom I support by coaching them with schoolwork and don't forget talking, reading and playing games with them, supporting them in after school clubs/hobbies and playdates and sleepovers whilst cooking all food from scratch and maintaining an immaculate and large home with bedding changed every few days and now the outside needs to be well maintained with plants not just lawn or boring patio, but wildlife and child friendly and also hugely social space for all the friends and family I have and hosting I do....did I miss anything? 🙄

What a peculiar take @SuperBored

Not really unless you just stick to gardening threads. If you read different areas of MN there are a whole heap of expectations foisted on other women and this thread appears to now put the garden on the list too!

I don't do it because it's an expectation, I do it because I love trees and greenery. Dh does the back garden and I do the front and there's roughly the same amount of work in each and they can be done in about half an hour.

I don't think anyone cares if your children are sporty or not, these are made up problems.

Not everyone has green fingers nor the time or inclination to garden. BUT I think concreted of Astro-turfed gardens are a disgrace. It’s not usually disabled people who do this, but as a pp said, the “super tidy” brigade who hate leaves or petals and want Instagrammable “outdoor rooms”.

The people who live behind us have artificial grassed their half acre back garden, plus rooted out the hedges and erected plastic fencing. It looks horrible, not to mention the run-off and lack of natural habitat.

As are most of the problems around expectations of others and half of MN 😁

What on earth gives you the idea that gardening or conversely concreting over your yard is all down to women?

We jave laurels all around amd provide privacy. Lawn and I have plant pots on the patio with biennial flowers in. Window boxes with annuals planted. So easy to look after. Can't think of anything worse than sat on concrete looking plastic grass

You've selectively mentioned the destructive ones though. Herb robert, nipplewort, scarlet pimpernel, toadflax, ivy leaved toadflax, to name just a few 'weeds' thrive in my garden and are all easy to control & beautiful.

@SharonEllis
Of course I detailed the destructive ones; they were there in the garden when we took it over! Or rather they had almost taken the garden over. I didn't imagine them or get to choose, so there is nothing selective about it.

You're fortunate to have a pretty selection to manage. I wasn't.

Because it's a site mainly for women

Yes, there’s been research that suggests that gardening has a more positive impact on mental health than anything else, including antidepressants. Being outside, being more in tune with natural circadian rhythms, physical work, having something to nurture and seeing the result of your efforts all contribute.

But nobody can argue with that, because you’re choosing to live somewhere that gives you what you want and none of what you don’t want. That’s cool, and I mean that genuinely. It’s people who share your tastes and buy a beautiful garden only to concrete over it who are upsetting.