By Desiree Miller
A no-maintenance yard is just a dream, but a low-maintenance yard? Totally possible, even in Austin’s sometimes-challenging climate.
What you need is a yard that can withstand the scorching summers, flash floods of spring and fall, and the occasional hard freeze of winter. It sounds like a tall order, but here are six low maintenance landscaping ideas for your Austin home.
6 Steps to a Low-Maintenance Austin Yard
1. Rain Garden
Flash floods are just a matter of when in Austin. The more permeable cover you have -- meaning ground that absorbs water -- the less likely the excess water will end up in your street or your house.
A rain garden is the perfect answer -- a garden in a small depression in the ground, that collects and absorbs runoff. The only work involved is digging a shallow area in your yard. After that, all you need to do is plant water-loving plants such as false indigo, blue Texas star, or swamp milkweed.
2. Drought-Tolerant Landscaping
Flash floods in the spring and fall bookend our drought-prone Austin summers. Scorching temperatures take a toll on landscaping -- especially if you’ve got plants that won't withstand dry conditions.
Plants like crepe myrtle, black dalea, or the bottle brush are all gorgeous, drought-tolerant additions to your low-maintenance landscaping.
Sign Up for free Get the first to receive the latest listing updates, save favorites & much more by signing up.
If you already have in account, SIGN IN.
3. Native Plants
Not all drought-tolerant plants are native, but all native plants in Austin are drought-tolerant. If you want an aesthetic that screams Austin, choose plants that evolved to thrive right here in Central Texas.
The Yaupon holly, or live oak tree, or purple baptisia are native plants that grow naturally. They're also eye-popping elements of any landscaping in Austin.
4. Hardscaping
The lowest-maintenance landscape is the kind of landscaping you can sweep off and leave alone. You can create a patio with pavers, bricks, or smooth stones to build a path to the door.
Whether it's a rock garden, a gravel path, or a concrete retaining wall, hardscaping is easy to maintain year-round, no matter the weather.
5. Automatic Irrigation System
Set it and forget it. An automatic irrigation system can make any yard lower maintenance -- and it can help you conserve water. Program your system to run in the early morning, or after the sun has set to combat evaporation.
You also can program different schedules for watering your lawn versus your flower beds. And make sure you angle sprinkler heads so that you water your plants, not the driveway or the patio.
6. Mulch
This idea has been around for a long time -- because it works. Mulch your flower beds heavily and it will help your soil retain moisture. Organic mulch also disintegrates into the soil, restoring nutrients while regulating the temperature of the dirt.
Mulch gives your landscaping a manicured look that’s deceptively low maintenance.
Low-Maintenance Landscaping for Austin’s Seasons
No one wants to spend all their free time doing yard work, but the right landscaping doesn’t need much of your attention. Plan your landscaping around the realities of the climate of Central Texas -- hot summers, flash floods, and the occasional freeze -- and you’ll be spending more time enjoying the outdoors instead of working on it.
Desiree Miller staged her first house at age 6. By all accounts, Barbie and Ken loved her work, and she has stuck with it ever since. She still stages homes today and writes about real estate topics.
Leave A Comment