Luxe, low maintenance landscaping

With weather like ours, living life in the backyard is practically mandatory. But with lives as busy as they have gotten, many people just don't have the time to handle the maintenance it can take for a picture perfect garden.

"I have had a lot of customers in the past show me a picture out of Southern Living with a beautiful English garden and say that is what they want their yard to look like," says John Puryear with Puryear Farms in Gallatin. "And I agree, it is beautiful, but it is our job to educate people that those things generally require a much higher degree of maintenance. And they are also very seasonal."

Instead of hard-to-care-for foliage, homeowners are instead going toward innovative hardscape options, which can be as subdued as a pathway of classic stone pavers, or as exciting as a 20-nozzle splash pad for kids to romp.

"It was big business last year," Jared Crain of Crain Lawn Care in Gallatin says of hardscapes. "There are a lot of people doing that instead of just a deck. They are putting out the fire pits, and the fireplaces and the covered patios. They are really just trying to create more square footage outside."

Crain says homeowners are looking to make special places outside that appeal to their desire to spend time with family, and that means bench seating out of retainer walls so they can huddle together and roast marshmallows. And, stone lasts much longer than wood decks that rot and weather over time.

People are definitely taking it from the inside to the outside, but Tennessee is a good climate for that until about July and August," Crain says. "And then you just put in a splash pad."

Add color

Of course, if you just have to have plants there are still plenty of options, starting with the old standby — trees.

"Ornamental trees and flowering trees are going to be your biggest bang for the buck with the lowest maintenance," says Puryear. "Ornamental trees are a great investment for people who want landscaping but don't want the high degree of maintenance."

Tommy Cantrell from Tommy's Garden Center in Portland agrees, and says people who want low maintenance plants should go for green velvet boxwoods or dwarf boxwoods.

"They are low maintenance and don't get as big so they don't have to trim all the time," he says. "They are just easy to take care of and are hardy."

For flowering plants, he says azaleas and abelias add color without needing constant attention.

"With the new butterfly bushes you get a lot of color, and the drift roses are probably one of the most popular," Cantrell says. "They only get 2' x 2' and then bloom from spring until fall. That is a great plant and comes in several different colors."

Want to deter mosquitoes? Add some citronella and lemongrass plants to the mix.

Time to plan is now

Puryear says the best time to plant deciduous material is during the dormant season, fall to mid spring, and the worst time is in the summer. So planning now is ideal.

"It does take several weeks to get the gears in motion and get everything set up to plant and make changes to the plan you want for your yard," he says. "A lot of people are under the misperception that spring is a good time to refurbish your lawn and seed it. But really, the best time for a fescue lawn to be rejuvenated is in the fall, September and October."

And if you need help deciding what to do, that is what the professionals are for.

"Come to us for advice and we can give ideas," Cantrell says. "Take pictures of your house and the area you are wanting to work on and bring them to the garden center. It gives us an idea of what you are looking at and the areas that we have."