Learning About Landscaping Materials

Posted on: 12 January 2022

Whether your second home is a vacation getaway or you've taken up the popular snowbird trend to avoid uncomfortable seasons, it can be tricky to manage it when you're not around. The landscape is one of the most challenging aspects for many second homeowners. How do you keep a nice yard without spending a lot of time and money? Here are a few tips to help you achieve exactly that. 

1. Use Native Plants

Native plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs are an excellent way to maximize lushness while minimizing effort. They're already acclimated to the soil conditions, temperatures, and sunlight levels, so they're more likely to hold up well on their own. They also tend to need less irrigation and fertilization.

2. Go Big

Rather than plant a bunch of smaller plants that will multiply your work and watering, choose items that provide the most bang for your buck. A large shrub, such as hydrangea or large-leafed bananas, or a plant that likes to spread into a large mound (like lavender) covers more ground and provides more color and texture with less work. 

3. Add Automatic Irrigation

One of the most important features of any partially-unoccupied home's landscape is automatic watering. A smart drip system paired with targeted sprinklers where necessary will ensure your property never looks abandoned and reduce the amount of work you have to do when you're around. 

4. Use Hardscape Strategically

Hardscape refers to the nonorganic elements of the yard — things like paved areas, mulch (both rock and wood), arbors, lattices, fencing, birdbaths, and walkways. Don't feel you must pave over large sections of the yard to achieve low maintenance. Instead, target hardscape to fix specific upkeep problems, such as areas where plants have trouble growing or drainage issues. 

5. Add Safety

A property that will be unoccupied for any length of time needs to be protected. Choose slow-growing plants to avoid overgrowth that gives cover for intruders or loiterers. Use landscape lighting to ensure it's well-lit. Keep trees pruned both for physical security and fire safety. And install low-maintenance deterrent plants, like thorny roses, around the home's windows and doors. 

Want more tips for keeping your second home landscape attractive but also low-maintenance and inexpensive? Start by consulting with an experienced landscape designer in the area the second home resides. With their local experience, you can choose the right plants, the right irrigation system, and the right hardscape to make a great yard all year long. 

Contact a company like C  & J Landscaping to learn more.