Easy Flower Bed Ideas

I’ve been struggling for years with the flower beds on either side of my pool. No matter what I did, they looked terrible. I wasn’t asking for a beautiful floral display or anything, I just didn’t want dead plants and dirt, that’s all. I am not a gardener, I just want low maintenance landscaping. So, here are my easy flower bed ideas.

Large Rocks

If you have a large space to fill, use large landscaping rocks to take up some space. These guys won’t die on you even if you forget to water them. Ha ha.

We had some large landscaping rocks in the backyard that we relocated to our flower beds. We put one in each flower bed on either sides of the pool. They incorporate the color of our deck into the flower beds and take up space. We use them as a place to set flowers in pots. Having something so large in the flower bed really helps break up the space so it doesn’t just look like a ton of plants. It adds interest to the space.

Small Rocks

Instead of mulch, cover the ground with smaller landscaping rocks. The rocks are much more permanent and don’t float away in a rain storm.

We used gray Mexican Beach Rocks from Home Depot to echo the gray color we used in our pool coping. These are available year after year, so you can keep adding to your pile if you need to. I did lay a weed barrier over the dirt before I laid the rocks down. I still have an occasional weed or plant pop through, but this much easier to deal with than replacing mulch all the time.

Grasses In Your Flower Bed

I really love the look of ornamental grasses. We had some monkey grass growing in a different flower bed in the backyard, so I pulled it out and planted clumps of it in the flower beds by the pool. I just spaced out my clumps, cut a hole in my barrier, and planted them.

This grass looks great in these flower beds and it won’t get overgrown like bushes would. Also, it’s very low maintenance. I don’t have to do anything to this grass. It is growing in all the places with varied sunlight. It’s just a great low maintenance plant which makes it a good choice for me.

Flowers in Pots

Instead of trying to plant flowers in the ground in the flower beds, I started planting them in pots and placing them in the flower beds. This way I can move them around if they need a different spot with more sunlight or more water. If I can’t keep them alive, it’s no problem. It doesn’t ruin the whole flower bed and I can just replace them next year.

Toys Make Great Accents

Finally, don’t think a flower bed is only for flowers or plants. It’s okay to incorporate some toys, antiques, or found items for fun. These items are also low maintenance and won’t die in the winter. I have several toys in these flower beds.

When we first moved into this house my daughter, 3 years old at the time, would ride her little red tricycle around the pool. When she outgrew it I couldn’t give it away, so I saved it. Eventually I put it in the flower bed and placed a plant in a pot in it’s driver’s seat. I also drilled holes in it’s back compartment for drainage and planted a plant. I love having it in the garden because it reminds me of that little girl.

In the other flower bed I have my son’s Tonka dump truck. He used to dig holes and play with his trucks right in that very flower bed. So, I never removed them. I just sort of planted the flower bed around his trucks. He doesn’t play with them anymore, but the dump truck makes a great spot for a plant. I just put some small rocks in the back of the truck to make a level spot for the plant.

In my flower bed around the backyard tree, I have a wooden airplane swing that my dad made. It’s kind of sad that it’s just yard art now, but I think it is very unique and adds interest to my yard.

All of these ideas are very low maintenance and perfect for someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of time working on their flower beds. It took me many years to figure this out and I had nothing but dirt and dead plants for most of that time. What do you think about my ideas? Do you think you could make a low maintenance flower bed idea with these ideas?

If you liked this post, check out some of the other projects I have recently completed in my backyard and check back for more.

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