Workshop Ten steps to an ideal easy-care garden

Create the ideal low-maintenance outdoor area so you can spend less time weeding and more time smelling the roses

Unless your thumbs are the deepest of forest greens, not many of us like to spend hours weeding and maintaining our gardens. Yet we all know how good we feel when surrounded by plants rather than metres of concrete with just one sad-looking yucca in the corner. The answer to this dilemma is to be a little more savvy with what we grow and how we manage our gardens. Follow these 10 tips to make your garden easier to care for and gentler on the environment as well.