The Perfect Minimalist Yard in 8 Easy Steps

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Minimalist Yard

My happy place is anywhere outdoors. I love the fresh air, the sunshine, the gentle breezes, and all of the soothing sounds of nature. There’s nothing quite like sitting outside with a good book in my hand, listening to the birds chirping, and watching my puppy play in the backyard.

My land sits next to a 40+ acre nature preserve, and it’s a short walk to the beach. It’s my personal heaven on Earth. It sounds relaxing and peaceful, doesn’t it?

Besides inclement weather, there’s only one thing that stands in the way of enjoying my beautiful, outdoor oasis on a perfect summer day. And that one thing is yard work. Yuck!

I find happiness in an inviting and comfortable setting just like everyone else, but I loathe losing my precious time and energy cleaning and maintaining stuff.

This same tenet applies to the outdoors that surrounds me. I cannot relax in my home when it’s dirty or cluttered, and I cannot relax outside when it’s overgrown or messy.

Because of this, my fiance and I have put a lot of time and energy this year into transforming our backyard into a minimalist sanctuary, so that moving forward, we can enjoy our yard with little to no maintenance.

A minimalist yard is intentionally designed for the user to enjoy the simple beauty of nature without having to waste a lot of time, energy, and money maintaining it throughout the year. Minimalist yards can be lush outdoor spaces with pops of texture and color.

And I will show you how you can design your own minimalist yard with these 8 easy steps.

Minimalist Landscaping Ideas

Minimalist landscaping ideas are all about creating a simple, low-maintenance design out in nature. And with the help of these minimalist landscaping ideas, you can turn your own yard into a beautiful, easy-to-maintain space for your entire family to enjoy.

Here are 8 minimalist landscaping ideas to get you started:

1. Watering

Water is the most important part of having a healthy lawn, and watering it regularly doesn’t have to be a huge, time-consuming chore. By having underground sprinkling installed, you’ll save your precious time and money, and you can help out the environment too.

Just set your timer to the early morning hours of the day when the sun and the wind won’t cause the water to evaporate too quickly. This allows the water you’re sprinkling to soak deep into the ground, and it helps the grass stay cooler during the hottest hours of the day. The timer also assures that you don’t overwater the yard because clean water is a precious resource that needs to be conserved.

Plus, it’s much easier than dragging a hose around the yard every week and coming back to puddles whenever you forget about it.

As an added bonus, purchasing a rain barrel will help you water your plants without turning on the hose.

2. Weeding

While you may find walking around your yard pulling out a few weeds here and there relaxing, most people think spending hours in the hot sun weeding is the stuff of nightmares.

Add in the fact that you’re not a huge fan of dumping carcinogenic chemicals all over the lawn where your children and pets play, there is a simple solution.

By investing a little time and money, you can line all of your new flower beds, or reline existing beds, with a good-quality weed barrier mat. A couple of hardy weeds may sneak in over the years where the seams of the mat come together, but it won’t be even close to the number of weeds you would’ve been dealing with otherwise.

Working hard for a weekend and putting the mat down in the early spring will save you precious time you can now spend hiking, camping, or boating outdoors instead.

And if a cluster of weeds sneaks its way into the joints in your driveway, pouring a little vinegar on them will do the trick in no time.

3. Edging

A quick and easy way to keep your minimalist yard looking great this summer is to use a weed whipper for edging. Weed whippers are so lightweight and easy-to-use, that anyone can get the hang of them quickly.

The best part is that you can see the results right away, and it makes your yard look very well-manicured without a lot of effort. It really is the perfect minimalist tool because it takes so little time, but it provides big benefits.

And if you have a partner who can help out with the yard maintenance, split up the chores so that one of you mows while the other weed whips. Even a very large yard can be mowed and edged in a short amount of time when you both tackle it together.

4. Mowing

Depending on the size of your lawn, mowing can be quite a chore. That’s why having the right mower can save you a ton of time and backaches.

Do your research and invest in a good-quality self-propelled or riding lawn-mower to get the job done as efficiently as possible.

An even more minimalist-friendly hack is to put in additional low-maintenance flower beds throughout your yard. This drastically limits the amount of grass you need to mow, and it adds texture and color to your outdoor space.

Lastly, only mow when it’s absolutely necessary. Once a week is plenty. Nature should look natural, so don’t waste several nights per week cutting the perfect patterns into your grass.

5. Low-Maintenance Hardscaping

Minimalism is all about owning things you truly enjoy and eliminating the rest. And the same principle applies to yards.

While you may really enjoy the look of mulch, consider whether you really want to add more mulch to your beds 1-2 times per year and completely replace it every 5 years.

If not, replace all of your mulch with a hardscaping alternative like fieldstone. It costs more money than mulch upfront, but it saves you both time and money in the long run.

Once you put them in, rocks are pretty much one and done. And you can’t get any more low maintenance than that.

6. Low-Maintenance Softscaping

Another important part of creating a minimalist yard is planting low-maintenance softscaping. Just by being intentional with the plants you choose for your yard, you can eliminate the need to trim and deadhead high-maintenance plants all summer long.

Remember, having a lush yard doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your free time manicuring it.

There are so many minimalist plants to choose from, and it only takes a little research to learn which plants grow best in your region. Some of the best low-maintenance plants for a minimalist yard are grasses, hostas, lamb’s ear, and rhododendrons.

7. Lawn Ornaments

A well-placed lawn ornament that you truly love is one thing, but having a yard full of mismatched lawn ornaments is the opposite of having a minimalist yard. Just think of the time, energy, and money it takes to find, purchase, place, move, and store lawn ornaments every year.

While you might find joy in your flamingos, gnomes, and concrete animals, when your lawn is cluttered with these items, it significantly drops your curb appeal.

So don’t forget to declutter your yard and only keep what really means something to you. Better yet, avoid buying a bunch of lawn ornaments in the first place.

8. Feeders and Houses

Lastly, feeders and houses are a useful addition to any minimalist yard.

Whether you add a feeder for birds, squirrels, or deer, or a house for birds, bats, or bees, you’re benefiting both the local fauna and yourself.

Sitting in the backyard and observing nature with a cup of coffee is the perfect way to enjoy a minimalist lifestyle. It drastically decreases your stress level, and it increases your happiness and satisfaction levels.

Minimalist Yard Design

A minimalist yard design is as unique as the people who create it. To construct a minimalist yard design that fits your home, look for ways to simplify both your hardscaping and softscaping in order to save you time and money.

You too can create the perfect minimalist yard design for your home and it’s as simple as following these 8 easy steps.

Minimalism is all about learning to enjoy the simple things in life and letting go of the rest.

There is no right or wrong way to do it. All that matters is that you create a minimalist yard design that you can truly enjoy, so you don’t have to waste your precious time and energy maintaining your yard over and over again.

Life is good. Go out and enjoy it.

Sources

• Bio Green Outdoor Services: What are the Benefits of a Sprinkler System?
• Environmental Protection Agency: Soak Up the Rain: Rain Barrels
• Gilmour: Best Time to Water Your Lawn
• The Grounds Guys: Hardscape Designs for Homes
• Wikipedia: Softscape

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How can you turn your yard into a minimalist yard? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.