How To Upgrade Your Landscape Without Spending Money Every Year

Working families make decisions involving quality life experiences and money management. Setting aside resources for retirement, home improvements, and unanticipated expenses can strain the ability to improve your property. It's no secret that purchasing annuals every spring adds impermanent beauty while promoting repeat spending. Such landscaping practices are akin to flushing hard-earned wages down the drain.

That's largely why many homeowners transition to flowering perennial plants and other mainstays. These assets reliably bloom each year with only modest effort. Home gardeners with some weeding and thinning perennials typically feel satisfied they have cultivated robust, cost-effective flower beds.

But what if you knew to take that philosophy further? What if you could transform the property from inefficient annuals and standalone perennials to a thriving landscape of colorful blooms without spending a nickel after the initial investment? These are ways homeowners can maximize the peaceful enjoyment of their property with a one-time investment.

How To Select Perennial Plants That Deliver Enhanced Benefits

To make informed decisions about perennial plant purchases, consider them in three groups: standalone, moderate spreaders, and fast spreaders. These are not necessarily expert horticulture terms, but they highlight a possible return on investment (ROI).

Standalone perennials generally do not spread and expand their garden footprint quickly. Some present large, attractive blooms that draw the attention of passersby. These include beautiful plants such as the Daylily and Yarrow. While gardens benefit from their eye-catching beauty, they generally won't quickly fill out a bed independently.

Moderate spreaders generally include Echinacea, Trillium, Wisteria, Phlox, and others, increasing their footprint incrementally year-over-year. Again, these remain excellent garden assets that provide valuable property enhancement. But in terms of maximum bang for your buck, it's a slow but sure process.

Fast-spreaders may include the Daisy, Black-Eyed Susan, Wild Aster, and creepers like the fragrant Honeysuckle. These perennial plants expand their footprint voraciously year after year. Flowers such as the Black-Eyed Susan thrive as their annual spread increases exponentially. Unless thinned annually, these aggressive perennials can take over flower beds, including standalone and moderate spreaders.

That's why experienced backyard gardeners often relegate them to specific areas. Many improve their ROI by employing strategies that give Daisies and Black-Eyed Susans their ground to run roughshod over. Homeowners can purchase a reasonable number of plants and space them out, knowing the vacant ground will see new perennials each year without spending another dime. Once fast-spreaders complete their takeover, you only have to water them.

How To Manage Fast-Spreading Perennial Plants

One caveat that family gardeners may want to consider involves how dedicated you are to a single perennial in one area. Many fast-spreading assets can be easily dug up and transplanted to other areas of your property to start new perennial gardens. But the Iris and Daffodil can harden their defenses to the point they seem like impenetrable objects.

The relatively fast-spreading Iris accumulates land by expanding its root perimeter underground. This contradicts others in its class who drop seeds and let rain and nature take their course. The rhizomes, which some consider their stem or root, creep under the surface. Few would disagree that the Iris ranks among any garden's fetching flowers. But its spreading technique creates a sometimes rock-hard layer just below the soil.

Iris beds require thinning every 3-5 years to ensure their mole-like activities don't become impenetrable or negatively impact the plants. The iris root system is so aggressive that it can affect nutrients flowing into the soil. Although the Iris delivers excellent ROI, gardeners may need to invest in sweat equity.

To a lesser degree, early-blooming perennials such as Daffodils increase their bulb expansion underground. If left unattended, they can become exceedingly challenging to thin or remove. The key point is that fast-spreading flowering perennials can quickly fill out gardens and spaces. However, understanding subtle differences helps working families make informed decisions about selecting the best cost-effective plants.