Having a modern and minimalistic garden really has its benefits over the more traditional cluttered cottage-style garden. For one thing, if you are just starting out on your gardening adventure, you will be able to get fully confident with a small amount of gardening rather than being totally overwhelmed with masses of different plants and their requirements.
Gaining color in other areas of your garden rather than in the flowers themselves can also have its appeal, but it is a good idea to have a mixture of different colors and flowers or flowering plants such as shrubs for bees and butterflies, etc. to thrive on.
Using stones and slate
To make a feature of a particular area of your garden, the use of stones or slate chippings can really draw the eye, and it has other benefits too, such as keeping weeds suppressed and yet letting the rainwater through to the earth underneath it will also shelter the earth from the sun and therefore, keep it much cooler for your plant’s root systems.
Slate can be used for many areas of your garden and not just to sit on the top of planted pots to make them look attractive. A slate path can look fantastic against a well-edged lawn, and it can be used as a feature edging along an already existing path or used in borders that are mainly dotted with pots rather than full of mulch and planted plants.
Decking is a brilliant feature to install
You may think that decking, in general, is neither eco-friendly nor is it low maintenance, and as far as the traditional type is concerned, you are probably right. However, there are some eco-friendly alternatives to the traditional wooden plank and stained decking that you may wish to consider.
There are businesses that supply eco-friendly decking as well as everything that you will require to install your beautiful new and usable low maintenance feature into your garden. All produce materials used are eco-friendly and very low maintenance. Rather than painting or staining every year to keep your decking in tip-top condition, you will merely have to wash it down with some soapy water to keep it looking great.
This type of decking is made from 60% recycled plastics and 30% recycled wood with a 10% eco-friendly bonding agent and is hardwearing, weather-resistant, and, as mentioned earlier, very low maintenance.
Colored planting pots
If you are using slate as the main feature for your borders, putting pots of a contrasting color can be really eye-catching, especially if you are careful with the choice of plant that you choose to put in it. Using pots of different sizes and the same color can make a bold statement, while using pots of different shapes can boost interest and yet still be pleasing to the eye.
You will have to water your pots regularly to keep your plants healthy as they will not be able to tap into the natural water table that plants that are planted straight into the ground can. You will probably have to feed them from time to time as well.
However, there are benefits to using pots. If you are looking at planting large plants, putting them in a pot will keep their root systems small and therefore stunt their growth for a short while, though you may find that you will either have to find them a new home when they get totally pot bound, or you will have to purchase much larger pots yourself.
