Time for a bit of garden envy! For those of us without 'green thumbs' having a garden that is as low-maintenance as possible has got to be a winner. If that means not having a patch of lawn to mow and strim, then that's got to be worth a look.....
However, a garden has still got to seem like a garden - and the beauty of these examples is that despite the 'hard' landscaping, the spaces still seem to provide a lush and green escape.
The gardens above have not relinquished their love of grasses altogether - just used in a whole different way!
This sort of landscaping is particularly suited to urban gardens, where arguably it's easier to zone and define the space within a smaller footprint. However, we are loving the over-sized scale of the garden design below - and still no lawn!
We featured this garden by British Landscape Designer Tom Stuart-Smith in a previous blog post which is the perfect example of how effective great planting can be as an alternative to where the more traditional lawn would usually be - see here for more.
Of course the evolution of vertical planting has gone from strength to strength and this is one tool we can use to help create that sense of green space when used in conjunction with hard landscaping.
Here there are a couple of examples of how going 'up' can really create a sense of drama. From the more formal planting design, to by contrast the loose arrangement of ivy tumbling down the back boundary.
Finally, for those of us that can't quite face getting rid of the grass completely - we couldn't resist looking at this garden below!
Here the only concession to planting is that great Frangipani tree with it's angular lean off- setting the square lines of the space. If this grass is super-realistic artificial turf then that could be the type of garden that even the most garden-challenged amongst us could look after?!