Embrace Your Inner Lazy Gardener

I’ll unashamedly wear the label of “lazy gardener.” Maybe you’re like me and have a plethora of interests or activities that eat away at your time. Or maybe you’re experiencing more physical limits on your body. Between a full-time job, RVing, cooking, hiking, crafting, and canning, my life is jam-packed with things to do from spring through fall. If you’re like me and you still want to have a beautiful and flourishing garden but feel overwhelmed by the amount of work a garden requires, this post is for you.

You can still create a stunning and productive garden with minimal effort as a lazy gardener. Today, I’ll cover the best lazy gardening strategies, plants, and tools that will help you achieve your dream garden without breaking a sweat. So, let’s dive into the secrets to becoming a successful lazy gardener.

Start Small and Stay Realistic

By approaching your garden plan with the following tips, you’ll set yourself up for having a lazy and successful gardening experience. First and foremost, start small. By starting small, you reduce bed preparation, planting, harvesting, and preserving time. This is especially helpful if you’re new to gardening.

Be realistic about how much time you have or are able to dedicate to your garden. A small garden is wise, and your future self will thank you. I know from experience that it’s easy to get carried away and plant a huge garden. By focusing on a manageable area that you can easily maintain, you’ll find it’s much more rewarding and does not become a burden. As you gain experience and confidence, you can gradually expand your garden over time.

Choose Low-Maintenance Plants

One of the best ways to ensure a lazy garden is to choose plants that require minimal care. Opt for low-maintenance plants like leafy greens, radishes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, herbs, and perennials like asparagus, strawberries, artichokes, and rhubarb. These are all extremely easy to grow and do not need constant attention.

With a little planning and strategic placement, you can let your garden work for you, not against you. By pairing compatible plants that benefit each other’s growth and pest control, you have a self-sustaining ecosystem. Companion planting reduces excessive weeding, pesticides, and fertilizers.

Stagger Your Plantings

You may be tempted to sow everything all at once in early spring, but that is definitely not required. In fact, staggering your planting or succession planting is a lazy gardener’s best friend. By staggering your plantings and choosing plants with different maturity dates, you can ensure a continuous harvest without becoming overwhelmed. Once a plant is done producing, you can pull it and plant something else in its place.

Embrace No-Till Gardening

Tilling, double digging, and other traditional methods of cultivating soil can be labor-intensive and harmful to the soil’s structure and fertility. As a lazy gardener, opt for no-till gardening methods like lasagna gardening or raised beds that preserve the soil’s natural structure and promote a healthy soil food web.

To plant a no-till garden, I like to stab my garden trowel into the soil, pull back the dirt, and remove the trowel so the dirt goes back in place. A low-maintenance garden starts with healthy soil. Instead of using synthetic fertilizers, enrich your soil with organic matter like compost, manure, or worm castings.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

Mulching is a game changer if you’re a lazy gardener. Using organic materials like straw (not hay that has seed), wood chips, grass clippings, or fallen leaves as mulch can help to suppress weeds, retain moisture, and improve your soil’s overall health.

Ever heard the saying, “Mother Nature is modest; she doesn’t like to be naked”? I find this to be true. If there are bare patches of soil, weeds grow, it is drier, and the soil is depleted. Organic mulches such as straw, wood chips, or shredded leaves break down over time, enriching the soil with organic matter.

Automate Your Watering

Probably one of the best and laziest things I did for my garden was to install a B-hyve timer irrigation system and soaker hoses. Automating your garden’s watering saves time, effort, and your plants from dying of dehydration. This smart watering system is set up through your phone, and you can set the watering frequency. It will not water depending on the rain.

Alternatively, installing rain barrels is a simple and eco-friendly way to provide your garden with a consistent water supply. You can use the collected rainwater for irrigation, reducing your reliance on municipal water that is chlorinated and saving money on your water bill.

Invest in Comfortable Gardening Tools

Choose gardening tools that are comfortable to use and designed for ease of use, like ergonomic hand trowels, pruners, and rakes. These tools can help to reduce strain on your hands and wrists, making gardening tasks more enjoyable and less tiring.

I love my garden rocker. I carry that chair all around my garden, and it’s my favorite lazy tool. You may also consider using a garden seat or kneeler. Both provide comfort and support while you work in your garden, reducing strain on your knees and back. Some other seat models even offer storage compartments for your tools, making it easier to keep everything you need within reach.

Embrace Your Lazy Gardener Lifestyle

I’ve given you some tips that I use to be able to successfully garden with limited time and maximum enjoyment. By incorporating my lazy gardening tips, tools, and plants into your garden, you can be lazy like me. I still have plenty of produce to preserve and spend less time fussing in my garden.

You don’t need my permission to be lazy, but you have it. So, go ahead, embrace your inner lazy gardener, and watch your garden thrive. For quite a long time, I’ve been eyeing garden baskets, also referred to as garden totes or caddies. These handy tools can make lazy gardening even easier by keeping your essential tools and supplies within arm’s reach as you move around your garden.

Spring is right around the corner, and it’s time to start preparing seedlings for their new home. Today, I’m sharing a super easy and no-fuss way to make your own garden markers. And in the future, I’ll be exploring the top garden planning apps to help lazy gardeners like us stay organized and on top of our low-maintenance gardens.

Happy lazy gardening, my friends! May your gardens flourish with minimal effort, and may you find joy in the simple pleasures of watching your plants grow.