7 Attractive Low-maintenance Florida Landscaping Ideas

Want a beautiful yard without all the hassle? Florida's hot and humid climate can make landscaping a challenge. Luckily, there are plenty of low-maintenance landscaping ideas that can give your property stunning curb appeal without consuming all your time and energy.

Native Plants

A simple and elegant way to choose low-maintenance plants is to select ones that are native to Florida. Here in the Sunshine State our sandy soil type and hot, humid climate can cause traditional garden plants to struggle. If you go for native plants instead, you'll be able to achieve a beautiful landscape without the constant care required by some non-native plants.

Here are some of our favorite Florida native plants for your landscaping project:

• Black-eyed Susan - aka rudbeckia, this drought-tolerant sunflower relative produces plenty of cheerful, bright yellow flowers and attracts several species of butterfly. Perfect for flower beds, borders, or butterfly gardens.
• Beautyberry - a perennial shrub that shines during fall, when it produces gorgeous clusters of bright purple berries. This drought-tolerant native plant can thrive in anything from full sun to full shade!
• Blazing star - this striking native perennial produces dramatic flower spikes that can grow up to five feet tall. Drought-tolerant once established, this low-maintenance beauty looks great in mass plantings.
• Muhly grass - an ornamental grass native to Florida, muhly grass grows in clumps of feathery pink blossoms up to three feet in height. Its soft natural form looks stunning alongside walkways or in mass plantings.

For more information on Florida native plants, check out our post on how to use native Florida plants in your landscaping. The Florida Native Plant Society has more information too.

Perennials

Perennial plants are ideal for adding low-maintenance bursts of color to your flower beds and borders, or even to your porch or patio when planted in containers. Unlike annual plants, which die after one growing season and need to be re-planted, perennials will continue to grow and flower for multiple growing seasons on their own.

Here are some of our favorite low-maintenance perennials for your plant beds and container gardens:

• Bougainvillea - this evergreen plant shows off with colorful flowers, or bracts, that bloom all summer long. A woody vine, bougainvillea can be encouraged to climb a trellis, wall or fence. Although somewhat drought tolerant, bougainvillea flowers best with frequent watering. It thrives in Florida's warm climate and does not need much care.
• Lantana - this beautiful shrub needs only minimal care and will add a range of gorgeous pastel colors to your plant beds. Unusually, several different shades grow on the same plant, to form multi-colored clusters of blooms.
• Mexican heather - this small, pretty shrub has glossy, dark green leaves and produces a profusion of delicate purple flowers most of the year round. A Florida-friendly plant, it looks lovely in borders, as ground cover or filling a container.

Mulch

Adding fresh mulch to your landscape design is a quick and easy way to get your outdoor space looking neat and boost curb appeal. Mulch is a great way to control weeds without using chemicals. It also traps soil moisture and protects delicate roots from changes in temperature. All of these benefits help to keep your plants looking great with minimal maintenance.

Different types of mulch have different properties. Organic mulches, such as wood chips, pine bark or pine straw, will eventually decompose, improving soil conditions by adding organic matter. However, it will then need replacing. Inorganic mulches such as gravel are very durable and will not need replacing for years.

Ground Cover

Ground cover plants are low-growing plants, often fast-spreading, planted to cover areas of bare ground. They share some of the advantages of mulch in helping to prevent weed growth and providing a barrier to retain soil moisture. Ground cover plants add biodiversity and natural beauty to your outdoor space with colorful blooms and interesting foliage.

Some types of ground cover are recommended as grass replacements for lawns. Perennial peanut or basketgrass need less water than high-maintenance grass. Other ground cover plants, such as Mexican heather or lemon ball sedum, look great in borders or raised beds around larger shrubs or trees.

Container Gardens

Container gardening has many benefits, especially as a way to get started with growing your own plants, or if you only have a small outside space. Here are some of the advantages:

• Container gardening is small scale, so there's not much weeding to worry about.
• If a potted plant is not doing well, it can be moved very easily to a different location. This can help as you get used to the sunlight requirements of a new plant.
• Adding new container plants can be a quick and easy way to boost curb appeal.
• A wider range of plants can be grown in containers than in garden beds, because it's easy to move potted plants inside during extreme weather.

Rain Gardens

A rain garden is a low-lying area of your landscape planted with native plants designed to soak up excess water after heavy rain. Once installed, a rain garden will deal with the effects of Florida's heavy, concentrated rainfall with no effort on your part - the ultimate in low-maintenance landscaping.

Without a way of controlling runoff, Florida's heavy rain can cause erosion problems. Excess water can pool on the ground or in garden beds, negatively affecting grass or bedding plants. A rain garden will help to control water levels in a natural and pleasing way, and is an excellent example of low-maintenance, Florida-friendly landscaping.

Native plants that naturally grow beside water work well for rain gardens. Examples include goldenrod, swamp sunflower, muhly grass and milkweed.

Hardscaping

Once installed, hardscaping may be the ultimate low-maintenance feature of your Florida landscape design. Of course, most gardeners will want to incorporate plenty of natural features too. However, some well-used hardscaping can enhance the appearance as well as the practicality of your outdoor space.

A patio, for example, will give you outdoor living space for entertaining or simply for sitting outside with a good book. Patios pair well with container gardening and can create a beautiful, functional space without requiring much upkeep.

Stone or gravel walkways reduce erosion in areas with frequent foot traffic and also look appealing. A trellis, a water feature, or permanent outdoor seating are other ways you can improve the charm and enjoyment of your yard. Once installed, these features don't need a lot of maintenance.

If you'd like help transforming your backyard into an inviting yet low-maintenance landscape designed for our climate here in Florida, feel free to get in touch with the friendly professionals at LawnMore Gainesville.

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