LOTTO DREAMS
Low maintenance, permanent materials are a Lotto dream writes Leigh Bramwell
THE lANDSCAPER AND I were doling one of those Lotto fantasies the other day, the subject of which was: if we could do this garden again differently, what would we change.
The answer was unequivocal: we’d use only low maintenance, permanent materials. Of course we would still have plants, but everything in between would be easy care. So, in case we win Lotto, this is my low maintenance reminder list.
Paint
Paint is neither low maintenance nor permanent, and I rue the day I ever started painting terracotta pots white — or any colour for that matter. At least twice a year they require emptying, cleaning (usually with the waterblaster), sanding, drying in the sun, sealing, repainting and replanting. I never have the time, energy or motivation to do them all at one so by the time I’ve finished doing the dozen or so we have, it’s just about time to start again. From here on in, ceramic pots with a glossy glaze only.
The same applies to walls and fences. Plastered walls are very stylish, but after three weeks of rain every day our off-white walls are green and will need the same treatment as the pots. From here on in, brick, timber or unpainted corrugated iron walls and fences.
Pavers
We have a six metre by four metre courtyard on the west side of the house (lovely for sharing a late afternoon bottle of bubbles) which is paved with 400 x 400 exposed aggregate pavers. Back in the day when we put them down, the drill was to lay them with about one and a half centimetres between them, and fill the space with a mix of sand and cement. There’s a really good reason why the current trend for outdoor paving is to lay the sodding things as close together as you possibly can so there is no room for weeds to grow through the sand/cement mix. Furthermore, if you are going to walk on your pavers they will get dirty, and then you will have to waterblast them, and then the sand and cement mix will come out in lumps and . . . need I go on? From here on it, timber decking, solid concrete or marble slabs with very tight joints.
Shell and stone chip paths
I was undergoing a beach fixation when
I chose shell for our paths. It was a very bad decision because although it looks gorgeous, it needs topping up at least annually (that means spraying out any persistent weeds) raking all the debris out of it, levelling it, filling in the hollows, mending the timber edging to try to keep
it confined, buying a trailer load of new shell, shovelling it off and raking it out flat. Well, flattish. Bear in mind also that if you want shell paths, throw away any shoes you own that have those corrugated rubber soles, because the shells will embed themselves in the channels and scratch your lovely timber floors. They will also hide in your rugs and bite whenever you walk around barefoot. From here on in, crazy paving (yes, really) edged with plants and with tiny ground covers growing in any cracks. Whatever grows there will look as if it were meant to be.
Ground cover
Thinking you can cover up large areas of the ground with something living that will a) cover up the dirt, b) repel weeds, c) require little or no trimming or maintenance and d) look fabulous is delusional. I sometimes feel I’ve spent my entire adult life looking for that perfect groundcover. I still haven’t found it, but at least I’ve graduated from wandering jew, which is a weed in this area and also makes the dog itch. From here on in, fine, dark mulch deposited over the garden at about 100ml thick. It keeps the soil moist and the weeds down (to some extent) and creates some visual space in the garden so you can better appreciate your plants.
Decking
This is a tricky one. Timber decking looks great, it’s nice to walk on with bare feet, it’s reasonably easy care unless you spill red wine or paint on it, and if you choose carefully, you should be able to find a timber (or faux timber) that will be low maintenance. Our decks are budget decking timber, stained and sealed, and to be fair, they’ve been pretty easy care. But they do need a sand and stain (or oil) every year or two, and after a really crappy winter like the one just past, they tend to grow a bit of black mould. Luckily, though, this is a Lotto fantasy, so . . . From here on in, Millboard, Kwila, Tonka, Vulcan, Accoya. Perhaps don’t Google these unless you’ve already won Lotto.