Our church has been established 5yrs. and now we need foundation plantings around church....would like advice on shrubs etc. that requires little maintenance. HELP!
As a professional landscape designer, I highly encourage planting low maintenance, drought tolerant plant materials that once established will require very little time. Begin with keeping the scale of the design in mind - how tall is the structure? Then add a few evergreen small trees or large shrubs and tier plantings of a combination of evergreen and deciduous shrubs that will bring year round texture, form, color and fragrance. Also begin with a good soil preparation and top with shredded hardwood mulch after planting. I prefer a plant specific fertilizer along with mycorrhizae enriched amendments in the soil.
Keep in mind what the garden will look like at completion, in three, five and twenty years from now. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish...most plant materials that are inexpensive is because they grow fast and will cost you more to maintain them with pruning and such.
Linda Greenberg Landscape & Design, LLC