Putting the right plants in the right spots is the foundation for any low-maintenance landscape. We spoke with 12 landscape professionals from eight design firms in different regions around the country to learn the plants they recommend to homeowners looking to create an easy-care (or easier-care) garden — and the plants to steer clear of. Read on to find out their advice and choices.
Athyrium Design
1. Lee Armillei, Athyrium Design, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Start with easy-care plants. Lee Armillei says her favorite trees that don’t require too much maintenance are swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor, USDA zones 3 to 8; find your zone), red maple (Acer rubrum, zones 3 to 9) and ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly (Ilex ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, zones 6 to 9). One of the most versatile shrubs for her area in Pennsylvania is Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica, zones 5 to 9). “It tolerates full sun, full shade, wet soil or average garden soil, and cultivars like ‘Sprich’ stay low,” Armillei says.
Other low-maintenance favorites of Armillei’s are ‘Hot Lips’ pink turtlehead (Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’, zones 4 to 9), ‘October Skies’ aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘October Skies’, zones 3 to 9) and ‘Blue Ice’ bluestar (Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’, zones 4 to 9).
What not to plant. Armillei recommends avoiding plants on your state’s invasive species list. “They will become a headache for you and your neighbors, and displace beneficial species in the wild areas of your local community and beyond,” she says.
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Todd Haiman Landscape Design
2. Todd Haiman, Todd Haiman Landscape Design, New York
Think small and slow-growing. Todd Haiman often works in the small and challenging conditions of city and rooftop gardens. To keep maintenance easy, he opts for dwarf and slow-growing cultivars. For ground covers, he uses native strawberries and installs ferns in shady spots. “Whatever keeps weeds from coming up,” he says.
What not to plant. Haiman cautions against putting trees that produce berries or other fruits in your yard if you aren’t prepared to deal with the dropped fruit. “It becomes an invitation to four-legged creatures,” he says. He also advises against planting fruit trees near driveways and paths, where the dropped pieces can litter the surface and make it difficult to walk on.
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3. Linda Greenberg, , Charleston, South Carolina
Show off local style. Linda Greenberg likes to feature low-maintenance plants that have the signature style of her locale. “Charleston is known for its courtyard gardens and surrounding water views,” she says. She adds that subtropical plants survive well in the area, so she turns to sabal palm (Sabal palmetto, zones 8 to 11), which is also the state tree of South Carolina. Other favorites are sago palm (Cycas revoluta, zones 9 to 11) and windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei, zones 7 to 11). She also recommends ornamental grasses and citrus. For added appeal, Greenberg often includes fragrant sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans, zones 9 to 11). “The smell is heavenly,” she says.
What not to plant. Greenberg says that any fast-growing ivy and vine varieties will take over a garden bed and strangle plants and trees if not kept in line. “I prefer to strategically plant vines like climbing roses or star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides, zones 8 to 10), so that they are not constantly needing to be trimmed to keep them looking their best,” she says.
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Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors
4. Robert Hursthouse, Jeff True and John Algozzini, Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors,
Bolingbrook, Illinois
Fill in the blanks. Robert Hursthouse looks to stonecrop species (Sedum spp.) for ground covers that will quickly fill a space. “They keep weeds at bay once they are established and yield a cohesive design element in the garden,” he says.
Fellow designer Jeff True describes low-maintenance plants as those that require the least amount of time and supplemental fertilizers to maintain the aesthetic health and beauty of the plants. “For me, plants that fit into the criteria include ‘Summer Beauty’ allium (Allium ‘Summer Beauty’, zones 4 to 9), orange stonecrop (Sedum kamtschaticum, zones 4 to 9), creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera, zones 5 to 9), fragrant viburnum (Viburnum farreri, zones 5 to 8) and ‘Blue Point’ juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Blue Point’, zones 4 to 9),” he says. True adds that his favorite low-maintenance trees for his region are Triumph elm (Ulmus ‘Morton Glossy’, zones 4 to 7) and cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus mas, zones 4 to 8).
Note: Some plants might self-seed or spread, depending on where you live and your garden’s conditions. Consult a local nursery or landscape design pro before planting.
Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors
Blend compatible plants. John Algozzini, who works with Hursthouse and True, mixes plants that coexist harmoniously, such as perennials and ornamental grasses. The planted site “develops into what I reference as a ‘happy congestion’ and requires less intrusion and maintenance,” he says, adding that perennials and grasses often have more predictable heights and widths than woody plants and don’t require pruning. “They only require a spring or fall cleanup,” he says.
What not to plant. Hursthouse suggests considering a natural planting style rather than a formal one. “Formal hedges of boxwood [Buxus spp.] take a considerable investment to keep the look,” he says. “Softer and billowing plant forms are more forgiving and require less work.”
5. Elizabeth Przygoda-Montgomery, Boxhill, Tucson, Arizona
Focus on evergreens. Elizabeth Przygoda-Montgomery faces the challenge of finding plants that work in her desert climate while giving the gardens she designs a lush and inviting feel. She starts with evergreen plants that don’t require a lot of work and provide year-round color. Her favorites include Gregg’s ash (Fraxinus greggii, zones 7 to 10), agave and cactus. “I like using the octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana, zones 9 to 11),” she says. Przygoda-Montgomery also is a fan of ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia (Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, zones 6 to 9) for a ground cover.
What not to plant. When designing a low-maintenance garden, Przygoda-Montgomery avoids plants that are deciduous, bloom several times a year or need a lot of support to grow, shape or maintain.
a Blade of Grass
6. Bryan Navarro, Alderwood Landscape Architecture and Construction, Bellevue, Washington
Choose hardy varieties. Bryan Navarro uses a variety of hardy small to medium evergreen shrubs and grasses in his designs to keep maintenance as easy as possible.
What not to plant. He finds that perennials often require deadheading the spent flowers. “There’s also lots of cleanup in the fall when the leaves all drop,” he says.
FormLA Landscaping
7. Cassy Aoyagi, Isara Ongwiseth and Oscar Ortega, FormLA Landscaping, Los Angeles
Plant for your region. Isara Ongwiseth says that indigenous plants are an obvious low-maintenance choice for most gardens. “Our regional favorites ensure pollinators and wildlife, and our clients, always have blooms, berries, seeds and habitat to enjoy,” he says.
Ongwiseth calls the coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia, zones 9 to 11) a keystone species for his Southern California locale. “If there is space, we plant them,” he says. In smaller areas, western redbud (Cercis occidentalis, zones 7 to 9), blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida, zones 8 to 10) and hardy manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) are his go-to choices.
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FormLA Landscaping
Provide year-round color. Ongwiseth also likes to use plants that provide color throughout the year. For blooms and berries, he chooses Catalina cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii, zones 9 to 10)
,toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia, zones 7 to 10), California coffeeberry (Frangula californica, zones 7 to 10) and Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium, zones 5 to 9), which also create privacy.
Ongwiseth often teams Palmer’s Indian mallow (Abutilon palmeri, zones 9 to 11
), which blooms 10 months of the year, with native sages such as ‘Bee’s Bliss’ (Salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’, zones 8 to 10)
,Cleveland (S. clevelandii, zones 8 to 11), ‘Dara’s Choice’ (S. ‘Dara’s Choice, zones 8 to 10), hummingbird (S. spathacea, zones 9 to 11) and white sage (Salvia apiana, zones 9 to 11). He’ll also mix in summer-blooming buckwheats, including California (Eriogonum fasciculatum, zone 5 to 10), Santa Cruz Island (E. arborescens, zones 7 to 10) and red-flowering (E. grande var. rubescens, zones 8 to 10). For fall and winter color, he adds fall-blooming penstemons and winter-blooming bladderpod (Peritoma arborea, zones 8 to 11) or manzanita (Archtostaphylos spp.). Gardens with these choices “have perpetual, evolving interest,” he says.
Rather than adding a thirsty lawn, Ongwiseth opts for dwarf coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis, zones 7 to 10), which is a low-water, fire-resistant choice that roots deeply to help retain slopes. “Everyone delights in its almost luminous evergreen foliage,” Ongwiseth says. Sanddune sedge (Carex pansa, zones 8 to 11) can serve as a low-water lawn or meadow that is play-ready and requires little to no maintenance.
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FormLA Landscaping
What not to plant. “We recommend removing ‘arson grasses’ — like fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum), pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) and Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) — anywhere in the West,” fellow designer Cassy Aoyagi says. “Once they take hold, they amplify fire risk.”
Oscar Ortega, who manages maintenance for FormLA Landscaping, says that where these grasses do exist, they can be maintenance nuisances. “They require perpetual weeding to keep them in the territory defined by the design plan,” he says.
Urban Oasis Landscape Design
8. Deborah Gliksman, Urban Oasis Landscape Design, Los Angeles
Focus on natives. Some of Deborah Gliksman’s favorite shrubs from California are the tall ‘Dark Star’ ceanothus (Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’, zones 8 to 10) and the smaller ‘Valley Violet’ ceanothus (Ceanothus maritimus ‘Valley Violet’, zones 8 to 10). Gliksman also recommends ‘Aromas’ sage (Salvia ‘Aromas’, zones 8 to 10), bush anemone (Carpenteria californica, Zone 9), ‘De La Mina’ Cedros Island verbena (Verbena lilacina ‘De La Mina’, zones 8 to 10), globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua, zones 6 to 9) and St. Catherine’s lace (Eriogonum giganteum, zones 9 to 11). “They’re all stunning shrubs,” she says.
For perennials, Gliksman often uses yarrow (Achillea millefolium, zones 3 to 9), monkeyflower (Mimulus spp.), penstemons and Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana, zones 6 to 10). For ground covers, she loves ‘Silver Carpet’ aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia ‘Silver Carpet’, zones 8 to 10), ground currant (Ribes spp.) and seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus, zones 8 to 10).
What not to plant. Gliksman advises against using invasive plants. Besides possibly taking over your garden and even your neighborhood, she says, they can compete with native species and threaten biodiversity.
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