The best low maintenance plants are the ones that look after themselves once they are in the right spot. No fussing, no constant watering, no propping up with stakes every time it rains. They go in the ground, they grow, they look good year after year, and they let you enjoy your garden instead of working in it.
These are the ten species we reach for most often in our garden design projects when clients want a garden that performs without demanding attention.
1. Lavender (Lavandula)
Lavender is the backbone of most low maintenance planting schemes for good reason. It thrives in full sun, handles drought without complaint, attracts bees and butterflies, and fills the garden with scent on warm evenings. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the hardiest for UK conditions. Varieties like Hidcote and Munstead are compact and reliable. For bigger plants with longer flower stems, the intermedia types like Grosso work well.
The only maintenance it needs is a trim after flowering. Cut back the spent flower stems and about a third of the current season’s growth to keep the plant compact. Skip the trim and lavender becomes woody and leggy within a couple of years.
2. Sedum (Hylotelephium and Sedum)
image credit: Gardeners Path
Sedums are almost impossible to kill. The tall varieties like Autumn Joy and Matrona produce flat heads of pink flowers in late summer that age to a rich coppery brown through autumn and hold their structure well into winter. The low-growing types like Sedum acre and Sedum spurium spread across gravel, walls and gaps in paving, covering bare ground and suppressing weeds.
They need well-drained soil and not much else. No feeding, no staking, no fuss. The tall varieties just need cutting back to ground level in late February when the new shoots start to appear. Bees love the flowers, which is a bonus.
3. Ornamental Grasses
Grasses bring movement, texture and light to a garden in a way that nothing else can. They catch the breeze, glow when backlit by low sun, and look stunning with frost or morning dew. Most are completely self-sufficient once established.
Miscanthus sinensis varieties are excellent for structure and height. Molinia caerulea (purple moor grass) has a lighter, more transparent quality that works beautifully in naturalistic schemes. Stipa gigantea produces tall golden flower stems that shimmer above lower planting. All of them need just one annual cut to the ground in late February before new growth starts. The rest of the year, they look after themselves.
Grasses are central to the naturalistic planting style that is becoming increasingly popular in UK gardens.
4. Hostas (Hosta)
image credit: Gardeners Path
If you have a shady spot where nothing seems to thrive, hostas are the answer. Their large, sculptural leaves come in shades of green, blue-green and gold, and they bring a lush, tropical feel to the shadiest corners of the garden. They need moist soil to do their best, but beyond that, they ask for very little.
The main enemy of hostas is slugs. If slugs are a problem in your garden, choose thicker-leaved varieties like Sum and Substance or Halcyon, which are more resistant. Growing hostas in raised pots with copper tape around the rim is another effective defence. Divide clumps every three to four years to keep them vigorous.
5. Daylilies (Hemerocallis)
image credit: The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Daylilies produce a succession of flowers through summer, with each bloom lasting a single day before being replaced by the next. They tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, handle drought, and come back reliably year after year. The colour range is enormous, from soft yellows and peaches through to deep reds and near-blacks.
Stella de Oro is one of the most reliable repeat-flowering varieties. For something more dramatic, Stafford produces rich red flowers with a gold throat. Deadheading spent blooms encourages more flowers, but even without it, the plants perform well. Divide clumps every four to five years when they start to become congested.
6. Yarrow (Achillea)
image credit: NC State University
Yarrow is one of those plants that thrives on neglect. It handles poor soil, drought, full sun and exposed sites without complaining. The flat-topped flower clusters come in shades of white, yellow, pink and red, and they attract butterflies, hoverflies and bees throughout summer.
Achillea Moonshine (soft yellow) and Achillea Paprika (warm red fading to gold) are two of the most reliable garden varieties. Yarrow spreads gently through its roots, which makes it a good choice for filling gaps in a border. Cut back the flower stems after they fade to encourage a second flush later in the season.
7. Russian Sage (Perovskia)
image credit: Loana Rut / Shutterstock
Russian sage produces clouds of lavender-blue flowers above silvery, aromatic foliage from midsummer into autumn. It gives a similar effect to lavender but on a much larger scale, reaching around a metre in height and width. The silvery stems and foliage look good through winter too, which means it earns its place in the garden for most of the year.
It needs full sun and well-drained soil. Heavy, wet clay will kill it. In the right spot, it is completely unfussy and drought-tolerant once established. Cut the whole plant back hard in early spring, to about 30cm from the ground, and it regenerates vigorously. This is an excellent plant for gravel gardens and Mediterranean-style schemes.
8. Echinacea (Coneflower)
image credit: Gardener’s Path
Echinacea purpurea is a reliable, long-flowering perennial that attracts bees and butterflies all summer. The classic variety has pink petals with a prominent orange-brown cone, but newer cultivars come in white, yellow, orange and deep red. The seed heads that remain after flowering provide food for goldfinches through autumn and winter.
Echinacea prefers well-drained soil and full sun. In heavy, wet soil it can struggle over winter, so adding grit to the planting hole helps. Magnus and White Swan are the most dependable varieties for UK gardens. Leave the seed heads standing until late winter for wildlife value and winter structure.
9. Butterfly Bush (Buddleja)
image credit: Gardeners Path
Buddleja is genuinely one of the toughest shrubs you can grow. It colonises railway sidings and demolition sites, which tells you everything about its resilience. The long flower spikes in purple, white, pink or deep blue attract butterflies in numbers that few other plants can match.
The only maintenance is a hard prune in March, cutting all stems back to about 30 to 45cm from the ground. This keeps the plant compact and producing flowers at a height where you can actually see the butterflies. Without pruning, buddleja becomes tall, leggy and flowers at the top where nobody can enjoy them. Buzz varieties are more compact and suited to smaller gardens.
10. Peony (Paeonia)
image credit: lezumbalaberenjena via Flickr
Peonies take patience. They can be slow to establish and may not flower well in their first year or two. But once they settle in, they are incredibly long-lived and almost completely self-sufficient. Some peony plants are known to be over 100 years old and still flowering.
The flowers are spectacular: large, fragrant and available in every shade from pure white through soft pink to deep crimson. Sarah Bernhardt (soft pink, double) and Bowl of Beauty (pink with a cream centre) are two of the most reliable garden varieties. Plant them in full sun or light shade, with the crown no more than 2.5cm below the soil surface. Planting too deep is the main reason peonies fail to flower.
Building a Low Maintenance Planting Scheme
These ten plants work well individually, but they work even better as part of a planned scheme where the heights, textures, flowering times and colours are balanced across the seasons. A border of just lavender and grasses is low maintenance but one-dimensional. Add echinacea for summer colour, sedum for autumn interest and hostas for shade contrast, and you have a scheme that looks good all year with minimal intervention.
If you want a planting scheme tailored to your specific garden conditions, our planting plan service specifies every species, its exact position and the quantity to buy. Your landscaper or gardener gets a plan they can follow precisely. For a full garden redesign that includes layout, surfaces and planting together, our garden design packages cover the whole process.
Not sure where to start? Take our free style quiz or book a free consultation with our garden design team.