15 Best Low-Maintenance Plants for Easy Gardening
Here are the best plants to grow if you don't want to fuss with them!
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Sometimes, you just want a plant that doesn’t demand a lot of time and attention. You want to enjoy your garden—not spend every weekend pruning and fussing! The great news is that there are tons of plants, including annuals, perennials, and shrubs, that are easy to care for— if you choose the right ones. Adding these low-maintenance plants and flowers to your beds, borders, or containers on your patio or deck can bring you a lot of joy with little effort, attract pollinators, and make your garden a dreamy escape after a long week.
But you do need to do the teeniest, tiniest bit of homework. For starters, read the plant tag or description so you’ll know whether a plant needs to grow in full sun (six hours or more), part sun (about half that), or shade. If you don’t give it the right lighting conditions, your plant is never going to thrive. And that’s just a waste of time and money!
You’ll also want to make sure any perennials, which come back year after year, or shrubs you’re planting are suited to your USDA Hardiness zone (find yours here) so they’ll survive winters in your area. And don’t forget to check a plant’s mature size. A shrub won’t be low-maintenance if it eventually gets 10 feet tall but you planted it right up against your house. Giving your plants the space they need will make life a lot easier on you both! Finally, remember that "low-maintenance" doesn’t mean no maintenance. All plants need to be watered while they’re getting established and during dry spells.
Here are some of the best low-maintenance plants for your garden:
Marigold
These sturdy annuals have been popular forever because they’re ridiculously easy to grow. They come in colors ranging from canary yellow to bright orange to creamy white, so they coordinate well with other flowers or add a pop of contrasting color to beds and containers. They bloom from planting to a hard freeze, and bunnies tend to leave them alone.
Shrub Rose
Believe it or not, new types of shrub roses are not the least bit fussy! They tolerate heat and cold, and they bloom from spring to fall. One quick trim in the spring, reducing their size by about 1/3, is all you need to keep them looking good for years.
Sedum
![sedum](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/sedum-1629385298.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.939xh;0,0.0370xh&resize=980:* ""Sedum Rubrotinctum or Jelly Beans or Pork and beans succulent plant")
There are many different kinds of sedum, including upright and creeping varieties. These succulents are a great addition to any garden to add texture and color, and they’re drought tolerant once established. Add them to borders or rock gardens.
Cranesbill
This pretty, lesser-known perennial, also called hardy or perennial geranium, is often overlooked by gardeners—but it shouldn’t be, because it requires almost no care. It spreads quickly in a lovely mounding shape and has dainty flowers that hover over the foliage in late spring to summer, depending on the variety.
Butterfly Bush
Look for dwarf varieties of this reliable bloomer to add to mixed borders. Pollinators love it, and newer types don’t get huge or invasive like older varieties. The pink, purple, or white spikes of flowers bloom all summer to frost.
Pansies and Violas
These funny-faced little flowers come in so many gorgeous shades! They prefer cool weather, so they’re great for adding color in early spring or fall gardens. They’re considered annuals in most of the country, though many varieties drop seeds so they will pop up again next spring. In warm climates, they may hang on for most of the winter.
Daffodil
These cheery spring-flowering bulbs are a must-have for any garden. Plant them in the fall for blooms next spring, appearing just about the time when you can’t take one more gloomy winter day. Even better? Digging rodents and deer tend to leave them alone, and they’ll bloom for years.
Hyacinth
These are another type of spring-flowering bulb that your neighborhood critters tend to leave alone. They’re available in lovely shades ranging from pale blue to hot pink, and their lovely fragrance reminds you spring has arrived finally. They’ll also return year after year. Fun fact: Hyacinths are one of Ree Drummond's favorite blooms!
Panicle Hydrangea
If you’re looking for a hands-off kind of flowering shrub, opt for panicle hydrangeas, also called PeeGee types, which are the easiest type to grow. They bloom from mid-summer to fall and look like you put a whole lot of work into them when you truly did, well, nothing! Panicle hydrangeas bloom on new wood, which means you can shape them by pruning a little in spring (though it’s not necessary!) without the fear of cutting off flower buds, which can happen with other types such as mountain hydrangeas.
Sweet Alyssum
This charming annual looks amazing tumbling out of planters, window boxes and over stone walls. It has a sweet, honey scent, too, that pollinators love and will handle cool weather just fine, blooming from planting in the spring to a hard freeze.
Sweet Potato Vine
It sounds unimpressive, but this annual comes in shades ranging from lime green to deep burgundy to variegated with pinks and pale greens. Plant it anywhere you can enjoy its draping form, but give this vine its own container, because it tends to take over.
Spirea
Spirea is a sturdy little shrub that ranges in size from a few feet to 7 or 8 feet tall. Many new types have pretty foliage that starts pinkish and ends up green, and it also has pretty spring and summer flowers that pollinators love. Look for reblooming varieties to get the most enjoyment out of this shrub.
Ornamental Grass
Add texture and interest to a mixed border with ornamental grasses. They need almost no care, and they look good year after year. You’ll find them in shades ranging from blue to green to gold, and their sizes vary from a foot to 8 feet tall.
Heuchera
This perennial is grown more for its frilly, colorful foliage than the tiny spikes of flowers that appear in summer. It’s available in every color of the rainbow from chartreuse to nearly black, and rabbits and deer tend to leave it alone. Plant in groupings for best effect.
Black-Eyed Susan
Just when your garden is starting to wind down for the summer, black-eyed Susans start to bloom. These cheerful flowers make you want to smile with their bright black centers and pretty golden petals. There are annual and perennial types, so read the tag to know what you’re buying.
Arricca Elin SanSone is a writer, editor, and content creator who specializes in lifestyle and gardening. With a background in health reporting, she applies these same research skills when writing about the science of growing things. She trials new plants in her expansive garden, and her houseplant collection consists of 60+ varieties. Arricca has written thousands of articles for publications such as Country Living, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, VERANDA, Southern Living, and more. She’s happiest when digging in the dirt, baking, or spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
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