Is There Such a Thing as Maintenance-Free Gardening?
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By Jonathan Yaakobi
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I was recently described as "an expert on low maintenance gardening". While I thanked the lady who said this to me for the compliment, I pointed out that I did not consider myself as such, largely because I don't really believe in the idea in the first place. If you want to have a wonderful garden, you've got to put some work into it. Actually quite a lot of work. Is it possible to become a decent pianist or tennis player without years of dedicated and consistent practice?
All the best things in gardening come as a result of someone putting a great deal of thought, energy, skill, work, imagination, and more energy and more work into the endeavour. A Wisteria vine trained as a small tree, a beautifully balanced group of shrubs, the bright orange berries of a Pyracantha, adorning the front wall of a private house, and a lush lawn, (hopefully a small one in a dry climate), all these are achieved by high maintenance. The exceptional and the delightful in the garden are unlikely to be achieved except in very rare cases, by a regime of "low" maintenance, let alone "no" maintenance.
Simply put, this means that it probably isn't worth going to the trouble and expense to put in a garden in the first place, if there isn't the will or perhaps the means to look after the garden afterwards. It's a bit like a person blowing their savings on a really fancy car, and then "saving" on comprehensive insurance, by taking out third party insurance instead. So if you plan to maintain the garden yourself, the question that has to be asked is "how much time are you prepared to put into the garden per week?" To have a successful garden, the work has to be regular and consistent. Good results are a function of doing things on time, like mowing the lawn not when you feel like it, but when it needs it. (i.e at least once a week in the growing season).
Of course many people simply do not have either the time or the inclination to work on the garden themselves. So then the issue of money comes in. How much can you afford to pay out to a gardener each month? If you're planning to spend a lot of money on setting up a garden, it would be worthwhile beforehand, looking into the going rates for a professional gardener.
This does not mean that the design should not take into account the viability of maintaining the garden. I've seen many a private garden degenerate because the set up is too fussy and complicated to maintain reasonably. For instance, let's say the going rate for monthly upkeep in your neighbourhood is $150. The question is, what is the average time spent by the gardening teams for this particular sum? If your garden is so difficult to maintain, that a gardener has to spend an unusually long time working, then one of two things are going to happen. Either he asks for more money, or he's going to quit. And this he'll do sooner or later, all the good will in the world notwithstanding.
Finally, I ought to admit that there is in fact such a thing called a "maintenance-free garden". There really is. It's a garden without plants!
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Author Bio Box: Jonathan Yaakobi
 My name is Jonathan Ya'akobi.
I've been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984.
I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners.
I also teach horticulture to students on training courses.
I'd love to help you get the very best from your garden,
so you're welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com
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