Low-maintenance garden: 5 trees and bushes suitable for any climate.
Selection of trees and bushes for a low-maintenance garden
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Creating a beautiful garden without spending too much time or effort is a dream for many gardeners, whether beginners or seasoned. The trick lies, among other things, in choosing plants, and more particularly trees and shrubs that require little maintenance while adapting perfectly to your local climate. In this article, we will explore five varieties of trees and shrubs ideal for those who want a thriving garden with minimal effort. Whether you live in a montane, Mediterranean, continental or oceanic climate, there are options suited to each environment. These hardy and easy-to-care-for plants require little to no watering or pruning, and by choosing them, you can enjoy an attractive outdoor space year-round, without the constraints of tedious maintenance. Follow our tips to transform your garden into a haven of peace with trees and shrubs selected for their ease of maintenance and beauty.
Mediterranean climate
Characteristics:
- full sun
- hot and dry summers
- mild and wet winters
- windy
Rosemary
Rosemary is an evergreen aromatic shrub with persistent foliage, often used in cooking. Its habit can be spreading or more upright. Beautiful blue flowers, more rarely white or pink. It tolerates any well-drained soil, even poor and calcareous, and withstands wind and sea spray. Hardy and drought-tolerant, it is a sun-loving plant. Pruning is optional.
Rockrose
The Rockrose is an evergreen shrub, valued for its white or pink flowering, from spring to summer. It typically grows to around 1 m in height and is bushy or more spreading. Hardy to around -12°C, it loves sun, well-drained soils, even poor and calcareous. No pruning is necessary.
Oleander
The Oleander is a dense shrub, 0.8 m to 5 m tall. Its evergreen foliage is adorned in summer with a generous flowering in a variety of colours, sometimes scented. It enjoys full sun and deep, fertile, well-drained soils, even calcareous. Hardy to around -12°C, it tolerates drought well and pruning after flowering is enough to keep a good habit.
Lavender
Emblematic of the Mediterranean, Lavender is a woody perennial with a cushion-like, somewhat open habit. Its evergreen, aromatic foliage is often silvery-grey, and it flowers from spring to summer in shades ranging from white to blue. It grows from 80 cm to 1.2 m tall and prefers well-drained, even stony soils in full sun. Hardy to around -15°C, a light pruning after flowering is sufficient to maintain it.
Umbrella Pine
The Umbrella Pine is an evergreen tree with a distinctive silhouette that quickly reaches 20 m in height, but with a clear trunk. Its green foliage gives off a pleasant aroma. A good shade tree, it bears the famous pine nuts. Untroubled by wind and salt spray, it loves sun, heat and poor soils, even sandy and calcareous. Hardy to around -12°C, occasional pruning of the lower branches is enough to reveal its trunk.
Rockrose is a shrub typical of the Mediterranean climate
Montane climate
Characteristics:
- Long, cold and wet winters (rain or snow)
- Cool and damp summers
- Possibility of severe thunderstorms
- Good drainage on rocky, steep soils
Juniperus
Juniper is an evergreen conifer with aromatic green, blue-green, silvery or golden foliage. Some are groundcover, others are true trees. It bears edible bluish berries. Full-sun plant, drought-tolerant, for dry, poor, even shallow and calcareous soils. Hardy, it can be wind-sensitive. Pruning is not essential and should remain light.
Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster can be creeping or shrubby. Deciduous to evergreen depending on species, some colour beautifully in autumn. It produces decorative red to orange berries. Very hardy, it tolerates neither drought nor calcareous soils. Pruning is optional, but it tolerates it very well, even if severe.
Beech
Beech is a majestic tree that also exists in dwarf form and offers different growth habits. Its marcescent foliage can be green, purple or variegated and turns coppery yellow in autumn. Very hardy, it grows in fairly rich and well-drained soil, but remaining moist. Prefer a site that is not scorching and not too windy. Used in a formal hedge, two prunings per year are necessary, but it can also grow freely.
Daphne
Daphne is a small bush, whose deciduous or evergreen foliage comes in green or variegated forms. It is valued for its fragrant flowering, white, pink or yellow, which occurs at different seasons depending on species. With variable hardiness, it likes dappled light. It needs a light, humus-bearing, cool but very well-drained soil. Some species adapt better to calcareous soils. It simply deserves to be admired and requires no maintenance or pruning.
Mitchella repens
Mitchella repens is a little-known bush, with a very low, creeping habit. Its evergreen foliage frames a white and fragrant flowering between May and July. Extremely hardy, it, however, fears extreme heat. Provide it with a light, cool and well-drained soil, not calcareous. It is not necessary to prune.
Mitchella repens is a little-known bush, very well suited to montane climates
Continental climate
Characteristics:
- large temperature variations and well-defined seasons
- long, cold winters
- hot, short summers
- moderate rainfall
Flowering dogwood
Flowering dogwoods are shrubs or trees with a very beautiful pink, white or yellow flowering, usually in spring, followed by small fruits resembling strawberries. The deciduous foliage, green or variegated, takes on sumptuous autumn colours. Of varying size and hardiness, they prefer humus-bearing soil, preferably neutral to acidic, and a partial shade exposure. Pruning is not recommended, as it can spoil the silhouette or promote disease.
Serviceberry
Serviceberry is a large shrub or small tree that combines the qualities: a generous white spring flowering, small tasty berries and a foliage that turns fiery in autumn before dropping. Very hardy, it is more susceptible to hot, drying winds. Give it a fairly bright exposure, but not scorching. Any good garden soil will suit as long as it is cool and well-drained. Pruning is optional, unless you wish to remove the few suckers it may produce.
Birch
Birch is an easy tree, well suited to beginner gardeners and low-maintenance gardens. It typically grows as tall trees with an elegant silhouette, and there are dwarf varieties and trailing forms. Its green and deciduous foliage takes on golden hues in autumn. Its bark is particularly decorative and offers various colours (white, pink, orange…) and its aments are also interesting. Undemanding, often very hardy, it tolerates poor, shallow soil, even waterlogged, in sun or partial shade. Its only needs are occasional watering during prolonged drought.
Viburnums
Viburnums represent a very large genus, and there is certainly one for every gardener. From groundcovers to large shrubs, there are varieties with evergreen or deciduous foliage, the latter turning sumptuous colours in autumn. Their winter or spring flowering, white to pink-tinged, is sometimes divinely scented and their berries are also decorative. Adapted to all soil types and exposures depending on species, they are often hardy and can go without pruning.
Ornamental apple trees
Ornamental apple trees form small trees with deciduous foliage, which turns nicely in autumn in some varieties. Their spring flowering, white, pink or red, is enchanting. They produce small yellow, orange or red apples. Edible, they are nevertheless rather tasteless, but remain decorative for a long time. Hardy and these are trees that enjoy sun and open spaces as well as a firm, cool soil, even clay. There is no need to prune them, unless you want to adjust their silhouette.
A Cornus kousa, splendid in a continental climate
Oceanic climate
Caractéristiques :
- Moderate year-round temperatures.
- Mild winters and cool summers.
- High rainfall and humidity.
Mexican orange blossom
Choisya is a shrub that captivates with its evergreen and aromatic foliage and its fragrant white flowers. Compact in size, it thrives in full sun or partial shade and prefers rich, well-drained soil. Its hardiness is good, as is its drought tolerance. Maintenance is minimal, with light pruning after flowering sufficient to maintain its shape and encourage a new flowering.
Pittosporum
Pittosporum is a shrub with evergreen foliage and dense, which can be green, purple or variegated. It can reach 2 to 5 metres in height and width. Its small, discreet, yet fragrant flowers are an added bonus in spring. This shrub prefers sunny to partly shaded exposures and a rich, well-drained soil with a neutral pH. Its hardiness is limited, but maintenance is simple, with occasional pruning to maintain its shape.
Lagerstroemia
Lagerstroemia is a deciduous shrub whose foliage turns fiery in autumn. It is also appreciated for its summer flowering, white, pink, red or purple. The bark of mature specimens is also highly ornamental and displays a range of colours. Height from 60 cm to 6 m, it requires a warm, sunny exposure and prefers neutral to acidic, cool and well-drained soils. Hardiness does not exceed -15°C. It may not require pruning, but pruning can be useful to rejuvenate its shape or encourage flowering.
New Zealand flax
Phormium forms a spreading, exotically styled clump. Its long evergreen leaves offer a very wide range of colours, from light to dark. Its dimensions, highly variable, allow it to be grown in gardens of all sizes. The summer tubular flowering, borne on long flowering spikes, is another of its assets. Medium to low hardiness, Phormium requires fertile, cool and well-drained soil. Maintenance involves removing spent flowering spikes and dried leaves from time to time.
Skimmia
Skimmia is a small shrub with evergreen foliage that can be green, purple or variegated. Its flowers are already attractive in bud, and when they open in spring, they are all the more so as they are fragrant. The colourful fruits that follow are just as decorative. Plant it in shade or partial shade preferably, in humus-bearing, cool, and not too calcareous soil. Pruning is not essential, but helps to maintain a denser habit. Its good hardiness allows it to be grown even outside oceanic climates.
The beautiful flowering of Skimmias
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