Suggestions for maintenance-free landscaping?
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We have a long, narrow strip of land between our fence and the road. I planted flowers and mulched it once upon a time, before children 😂, but I don’t have time to maintain it anymore. It has obviously become overgrown with weeds and is a major eyesore. I would really like to put in something that would be fairly maintenance-free that wouldn’t require a lot of weeding, re-mulching, etc. Any ideas for plants or other materials that would allow for this?!?
Decorative rock and weed barrier.
Mow down all the weeds and dying flowers just as short as you can get them, put black plastic over the area and weigh it down with large rocks so it won't blow away in a wind storm. Wait 2 weeks for the heat from the sun and the black plastic to kill out all the roots, remove the plastic (roll it up for use later), rake the area clean of all growth, lay down some landscaping fabric - make sure the correct side is up so water can go down through it, then cover ALL the fabric with small rocks/stones. This way, if you decide later to plant some new flowers in the area, all you will have to do is: Shove the rocks aside only where you want to plant a flower, cut an X in the fabric, plant the flower, smooth out the fabric around the stem/base of the flower, and using only your hands, level out the rocks around the flower. This will keep all weeds and grass from growing in the area but will let everything you plant later grow without competition. Good Luck!!
Rock mulch works for awhile, but eventually you will get weeds as dirt and weed seeds will be deposited by wind and birds. Putting plants in rock mulch can be a real problem because in a sunny spot, the rocks will hold heat and cook plants (unless you do cacti or some equally hardy plant designed for heat. A wood mulch would work as well instead--yes, you would have to renew it every other year or two, but it would be cheaper than rock and much better should you want to plant flowers down the road. I speak from unhappy experience--We have rock mulched beds at our new house and they are filled with weeds and impossible to plant in. They are also very expensive to remove--no one wants the rocks and no one wants to take out the rocks. Very disappointing and I'm still trying to figure out what to do. Covered one such bed with cedar mulch--looks better and has no weeds, but I can't plant it anytime soon since the rocks are in the way.
Boric acid will kill the weeds, a landscaper advised me but also cautioned me to use sparingly as it will spread when wet and continue to kill whatever in its path. Pacasandra is great ground cover and spreads pretty quickly after you recoup from killing the existing weeds. If you want to add color, I've added geraniums still in pots. Good luck and have fun whatever you decide!