Ten Easy-Going Flowers That Practically Grow Themselves

The Ultimate Guide to a Low-Maintenance Garden That Looks Anything But

The idea of the low-maintenance garden has suffered from bad press. For too long it has conjured images of gravel and ornamental grasses, of bark mulch and the occasional architectural plant standing in isolation like a sculpture in a car park. The case we want to make here is a different one: that a garden of genuine beauty, one that rewards daily looking and rewards it differently across the seasons, is entirely compatible with a realistic commitment of time and energy. You simply need to choose the right plants.

The ten flowers that follow have been selected on the basis of a consistent set of criteria. They are genuinely hardy in the British climate. They require no staking, no deadheading to continue flowering, no complex feeding regimes, and no annual lifting and replanting. Most of them establish quickly, spread themselves cheerfully without becoming invasive, and perform year after year with increasing confidence. Several of them also have the decency to seed themselves around, slowly filling gaps and creating the kind of natural-looking abundance that takes a great deal of deliberate effort to achieve by other means.

None of them are boring. That matters too.

1. Hardy Geranium (Geranium, various species and cultivars)

If there is a single plant that the low-maintenance gardener could not do without, the hardy geranium — not to be confused with the tender Pelargonium that fills summer window boxes — is a strong candidate for the title. It is, by any measure, one of the most obliging genera in the flowering plant kingdom.

Hardy geraniums form low, spreading mounds of attractively lobed or dissected foliage and produce flowers in almost continuous succession from late spring through to autumn, depending on the variety. The flower colours span the full spectrum from the purest white through every shade of pink, lilac and violet to the deepest near-black-purple. Most are fully and robustly hardy, indifferent to soil type provided drainage is reasonable, tolerant of both sun and partial shade, and long-lived without any need for division.

The range of available varieties is large enough to be initially overwhelming, but a few names stand out as genuinely exceptional in garden performance. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is the most celebrated, and the acclaim is deserved: it produces violet-blue flowers with a white centre from June until the first frosts, making it the longest-flowering hardy perennial in widespread cultivation. Its sprawling habit makes it useful as ground cover and as a weaver through other plants. ‘Johnsons Blue’ is the classic, with clear blue flowers in May and June. Geranium macrorrhizum is the most tolerant of all — ground-hugging, fragrant-leaved, producing pink or white flowers in early summer and colouring brilliantly in autumn, thriving in dry shade where almost nothing else will grow.

The one task hardy geraniums occasionally appreciate is the Chelsea chop — cutting the whole plant back hard to the ground after its first flush of flowering. This takes thirty seconds per plant with a pair of shears, and the reward is a flush of fresh new foliage and a generous second crop of flowers six weeks later. It is entirely optional.

Best varieties: ‘Rozanne’, ‘Johnsons Blue’, G. macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’, ‘Patricia’, ‘Orion’, G. psilostemon. Situation: Sun or partial shade. Almost any soil. Height: 30–60cm depending on variety.

2. Allium (Allium, ornamental species)

The ornamental alliums are one of gardening’s more satisfying discoveries: members of the onion family that have been persuaded, over many centuries of selection, to redirect the considerable energies of the genus into flowers of extraordinary architectural beauty. They are among the easiest of all spring and early summer bulbs to grow, reliably perennial, largely pest-free — their onion chemistry deters most browsers — and possessed of a structural presence that gives a border definition and geometry at a season when many perennials are still establishing themselves.

Most ornamental alliums flower in May and June, bridging the gap between the main tulip season and the full opening of the summer border, and their dried seed heads — which persist for weeks after the flowers fade — are among the most beautiful structural elements the autumn border can offer. The silvery-bronze globes of Allium cristophii, eight inches across and glittering in low light, are as ornamental in seed as in flower.

Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ is the variety that appears most consistently in the most admired gardens: deep, saturated purple spheres on 90cm stems, at their peak in late May and early June, perfect with the first roses, with Salvia nemorosa, with lily-flowered tulips, with almost everything. Allium cristophii is lower, broader and later, with enormous starburst spheres of metallic purple-pink. Allium ‘Gladiator’ is tall, reliable and a clear mid-purple. For white, Allium nigrum provides elegant cream-white flower heads; for the delicate end of the scale, Allium karataviense is almost stemless, its broad blue-green leaves alone worth growing.

Plant bulbs in autumn at twice their own depth in well-drained soil in full sun. Leave them alone. Expect improvement year on year.

Best varieties: ‘Purple Sensation’, A. cristophii, ‘Mount Everest’, A. karataviense, ‘Gladiator’, A. nigrum. Situation: Full sun. Well-drained soil essential. Height: 15–90cm depending on variety.

3. Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea and hybrids)

The coneflower arrived in European gardens from the North American prairies, and it brings with it the robust constitution appropriate to a plant evolved to thrive on the Great Plains. Drought-tolerant, long-lived, self-supporting, attractive to bees and butterflies throughout its long July-to-September flowering season, and possessed of seed heads that feed birds through the autumn and winter — the echinacea is, in almost every respect, the ideal low-maintenance border perennial.

The classic Echinacea purpurea bears flowers of warm rose-pink with slightly reflexing petals surrounding a prominent, slightly prickly central cone of bronze-orange. It is a bold, cheerful flower of great naturalness that combines beautifully with ornamental grasses, Rudbeckia, Helenium and the later-flowering Persicaria species. The overall effect of a mature clump in August, covered in flowers at various stages from bud to fully open, with the spent cones of earlier flowers darkening to bronze, has a richness and depth that rewards sustained looking.

The hybrids introduced over the last two decades have extended the colour range considerably — through orange, yellow, red, cream and near-white — though some of the more extreme novelty colours are less constitutionally robust than the species and its straightforward cultivars. For reliable performance, Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’ (large, flat, deep rose flowers), ‘White Swan’ (pure white with a golden cone), and ‘Kim’s Knee High’ (compact, free-flowering, especially suitable for smaller gardens) are the safest choices.

Echinacea establishes slowly in its first year but thereafter is essentially permanent. It does not need dividing, resents root disturbance, and asks only for a position in full sun with reasonable drainage. Do not cut back the seed heads in autumn — they are both beautiful and beneficial.

Best varieties: ‘Magnus’, ‘White Swan’, ‘Kim’s Knee High’, ‘Rubinglow’, ‘Prairie Splendor’. Situation: Full sun. Well-drained to average soil. Drought-tolerant once established. Height: 60–120cm.

4. Nepeta (Nepeta x faassenii and related species)

Catmint is a plant of the kind that makes experienced gardeners wonder why beginners do not plant more of it. In flower from May to October — an extraordinary season for a hardy perennial — with aromatic silver-grey foliage that is attractive even when not in bloom, tolerant of poor dry soils, indifferent to neglect, and producing clouds of small lavender-blue flowers that are among the most appealing of all summer border colours, it offers more for less effort than almost anything else you can plant.

The flowers are individually small, borne in dense spikes above the mounded, spreading plant, and the overall effect is one of soft haze rather than hard definition — which makes Nepeta invaluable as a linking and softening element in the border, threading between more structural plants and filling the visual gaps between larger-flowered neighbours. It associates particularly well with roses, with Salvia, with Alchemilla, and with almost any grey or silver-leaved plant.

Nepeta x faassenii is the most commonly grown and most compact variety, reaching about 45cm. Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ is taller, more vigorous, and perhaps the most impressive in pure quantity of flower — an established clump in June is one of the most abundantly floriferous sights in the summer garden. Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’, despite its confusing name, is among the best all-round garden performers: long-flowering, neat in habit, and reliably hardy.

The single maintenance task that significantly improves Nepeta is cutting it back by half after its first flowering peak — a quick job with a pair of shears — which stimulates a vigorous second flush. Left entirely alone, it will still flower adequately for most of the season. The cat situation — Nepeta is catnip, and some cats will roll ecstatically in newly planted specimens — can be managed with small pegs of wire netting around the plant until it establishes.

Best varieties: ‘Six Hills Giant’, ‘Walker’s Low’, N. x faassenii, ‘Junior Walker’, ‘Purrsian Blue’. Situation: Full sun to partial shade. Poor to average well-drained soil. Excellent for dry sites. Height: 45–90cm.

5. Rudbeckia (Rudbeckia fulgida and hybrids)

If the summer border has a long tail that extends well into autumn with reliable, cheerful colour, the rudbeckias are largely responsible for it. These North American prairie perennials begin flowering in July and continue, with increasing momentum, until the frosts of November cut them down — a performance of roughly four months that is exceptional among hardy perennials. Their flowers are the classic daisy form — golden-yellow ray petals around a dark brown-black central cone — and while the individual flowers are not complex, the overall effect of a well-established clump carrying fifty or sixty blooms simultaneously is one of exuberant, warm-toned abundance.

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ is the variety that established the genus in modern gardens and it remains the benchmark: compact at around 60cm, extremely free-flowering, with rich golden-yellow flowers and a particularly dark, prominent central cone. It forms clumps that slowly expand without becoming invasive, self-supports without staking, and is genuinely undemanding as to soil and situation, provided it receives reasonable sun.

Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’ (‘Autumn Sun’) is the taller, more dramatic cousin — reaching 1.8 metres or more in good soil with strong vertical stems carrying large, reflexing golden flowers. It does not need staking, despite its height, and creates an extraordinary back-of-border effect in September and October. For the smaller garden, ‘Goldsturm’ is the better choice; where space permits, a combination of the two creates a natural-looking succession of scale and season.

The seed heads that follow the flowers are attractive in their own right through the winter, and cutting the plant back in spring rather than autumn provides both structural interest and food for seed-eating birds over the colder months.

Best varieties: ‘Goldsturm’, ‘Herbstsonne’, ‘Viette’s Little Suzy’, R. hirta ‘Prairie Sun’. Situation: Full sun to partial shade. Moist, fertile soil preferred, but tolerant of average conditions. Height: 60–180cm depending on variety.

6. Salvia nemorosa (and related hardy salvias)

The hardy salvias occupy a position in the summer border that no other genus quite fills. They produce dense, vertical spikes of small, rich-coloured flowers — predominantly purple, violet, blue and pink — over a very long season, associate beautifully with almost every other summer-flowering plant, are reliably hardy, require no staking, and attract pollinators in extraordinary numbers. A clump of Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ in full flower in June will vibrate almost continuously with bumblebees.

Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ is the essential variety — deep violet-purple flowers on near-black stems, upright, compact at around 60cm, striking against almost any background. ‘Mainacht’ (May Night) is earlier-flowering and a slightly darker purple. ‘Ostfriesland’ (East Friesland) is more compact and widely available. ‘Amethyst’ offers a warm pink alternative. For a longer season, Salvia x sylvestris ‘Blauhügel’ (Blue Hill) produces clear blue flowers in June and, if cut back after the first flush, an excellent second flowering in August.

These hardy salvias prefer a position in full sun with good drainage and are notably drought-tolerant once established. They are not long-lived in cold, wet soils, but in well-drained conditions they are essentially permanent. Cutting the spent flower spikes back by two-thirds after the first flowering — a quick job — reliably produces a generous second flush and extends the season considerably.

For slightly more adventurous gardeners, Salvia ‘Amistad’ — technically half-hardy in most of Britain but often surviving mild winters — produces enormous violet-purple flowers on tall branching stems from July to November and is among the most spectacular of all salvias in a mild season.

Best varieties: ‘Caradonna’, ‘Mainacht’, ‘Ostfriesland’, ‘Blauhügel’, ‘Amethyst’, S. verticillata ‘Purple Rain’. Situation: Full sun. Well-drained soil essential. Drought-tolerant. Height: 45–90cm.

7. Helenium (Helenium autumnale and hybrids)

The sneezeworts — their common name derived not from any tendency to provoke sneezing but from an old confusion with Achillea ptarmica — are among the most reliably cheerful of all late-summer and autumn perennials. They flower from July to October, in colours that run from clear yellow through warm orange to deep mahogany-red, often with multiple tones on a single flower. The ray petals reflex backward slightly from the dark central boss, giving the flowers a distinctive, animated appearance, as though permanently caught in a light breeze.

Heleniums combine with particular success with the other prairie-family perennials — Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Persicaria — and with ornamental grasses, creating the warm, naturalistic late-season effect that defines the New Perennial planting style developed by Piet Oudolf and others. They are self-supporting in all but the richest soils, reliably perennial, and increase steadily in size without becoming troublesome. They require no staking, no deadheading, and no complex management.

The one technique that significantly improves Helenium performance is the Chelsea chop: cutting clumps back by a third to a half in late May prevents the taller varieties from becoming leggy at the base and staggers the flowering period, extending the season into October. This is optional — an uncut Helenium will flower perfectly well — but for the gardener who wants maximum effect for minimum intervention, it is a worthwhile five minutes.

‘Moerheim Beauty’ is the classic variety — rich coppery-red flowers with a dark centre, vigorous and reliable. ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ begins in June, extending the season backward. ‘Butterpat’ is the clearest, most satisfying yellow. ‘Rubinzwerg’ (Ruby Dwarf) is more compact and particularly suitable for smaller borders.

Best varieties: ‘Moerheim Beauty’, ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’, ‘Butterpat’, ‘Rubinzwerg’, ‘Waltraut’. Situation: Full sun. Moist, fertile soil preferred. Tolerates heavy soil better than many perennials. Height: 60–120cm.

8. Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle)

Alchemilla mollis is not a flower that dazzles at first glance. Its individual flowers are tiny — yellow-green, borne in frothy, cloud-like sprays — and its overall stature is modest. It is not a plant that photographers rush toward or that wins prizes at shows. And yet it appears in more well-designed gardens, in more contexts, and more reliably than almost any other plant in this list, because it does something that no flashier plant can do: it makes everything around it look better.

The flowers — individually insignificant, collectively forming a haze of acid yellow-green that lasts from late May to July — are at their most beautiful in the early morning, when the perfectly round droplets of dew or rain that collect in the centre of each pleated, slightly hairy leaf catch the light like mercury. The foliage itself, soft, grey-green and gently scalloped at the edges, is handsome from the moment it emerges in spring to the moment it is cut back in late summer. It softens the edges of paths and steps with an ease that looks designed but requires no effort. It fills the fronts of borders without competing with its neighbours. It combines with everything — roses, hardy geraniums, salvias, alliums — acting as the visual mortar between the bricks of a planting design.

Alchemilla mollis seeds itself prolifically, which means that in most gardens it will self-propagate to the point where you have more than you need. This is mostly a virtue — seedlings fill gaps and extend planting across paving and gravel without any effort — but it does mean occasional editing in smaller gardens. A single cut-back to the ground in July clears the spent flowers, prevents excessive seeding and produces a flush of fresh foliage that looks beautiful through late summer and autumn.

Situation: Sun or shade. Any soil, including dry shade under trees. Very drought-tolerant once established. Height: 30–45cm.

9. Persicaria (Persicaria amplexicaulis and related species)

The persicarias occupy the August-to-October slot in the border with a reliability that few other plants match. They are large, vigorous perennials with handsome foliage and dense, poker-like flower spikes in shades of red, pink, magenta and white — colours that read warmly against the golds and bronzes of the late-season garden. They establish quickly, require no staking, tolerate a wide range of soil conditions including heavy clay, and spread steadily into sizeable, floriferous clumps without requiring division for many years.

Persicaria amplexicaulis is the species most commonly grown, and its cultivars provide the bulk of the choice. ‘Firetail’ is the classic crimson-red, vigorous and free-flowering with long, tapering spikes. ‘Alba’ is white, cooler and more elegant. ‘JS Caliente’ is a particularly deep, rich red on compact, well-branched plants. ‘Orange Field’ extends the colour range into warm orange-red. For something more refined, ‘Blackfield’ has very dark, near-crimson flowers and is somewhat more restrained in habit.

Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’ is quite different in character — earlier flowering from May to July, lower-growing, with dense, soft-pink spikes above fresh green foliage. It tolerates moist soil extremely well and is one of the best perennials for situations that are too wet for most plants. It can spread enthusiastically in ideal conditions, but the vigour is easily managed by lifting and dividing as needed.

These are plants that look best in generous groups — three or five plants of the same variety create a much stronger effect than single specimens — and they associate with particular success with ornamental grasses, late-flowering asters, and the tall rudbeckias.

Best varieties: ‘Firetail’, ‘Alba’, ‘JS Caliente’, ‘Orange Field’, P. bistorta ‘Superba’. Situation: Sun or partial shade. Moist to average soil. Tolerant of clay and damp conditions. Height: 80–120cm.

10. Aquilegia (Aquilegia vulgaris and hybrids)

The columbines are not, strictly speaking, low-maintenance in the conventional sense — they are relatively short-lived as individual plants, with a lifespan of perhaps three to five years. But they are among the most enthusiastic and reliable self-seeders in the garden, and a colony of Aquilegia, once established, effectively maintains and renews itself indefinitely without any intervention beyond the occasional editing of seedlings from positions where they are not wanted.

The flowers are among the most intricate and beautiful of any hardy perennial — complex structures with spurred petals and reflexing outer sepals that appear, on close examination, to have been assembled by someone with considerable time and exceptional skill. In the species forms and simpler cultivars they have a quality of restrained elegance; in the double forms and the more complex hybrids they are almost impossibly elaborate. They flower in late April and May, when the garden is building toward its summer climax, and they combine naturally with tulips, alliums, Geranium and Digitalis in the late-spring border.

The colour range is extraordinary — spanning white, cream, yellow, pink, red, purple, blue and near-black, with many bicolour combinations — and the particular pleasure of a self-seeding colony is the slow drift of colours that evolves over years as seedlings cross freely and produce their own combinations. The dark-leaved, dark-flowered ‘Black Barlow’ and its relatives introduce a dramatic near-black element; ‘Nora Barlow’ produces extraordinary pompon flowers in pink, white and green that look like miniature double dahlias; Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata ‘White Barlow’ is a double white of exceptional refinement.

Allow the seed heads to develop and scatter before cutting back — this is the entire management strategy, and it takes rather less effort than it might appear.

Best varieties: A. vulgaris var. stellata ‘Nora Barlow’, ‘Black Barlow’, ‘White Barlow’, ‘Ruby Port’, A. vulgaris ‘Nivea’, ‘William Guinness’. Situation: Sun or partial shade. Most soils, including poor and dry. Height: 45–90cm.

Putting It Together: Designing With Easy-Going Flowers

The ten plants described here are not just individually easy — they are collectively compatible in a way that makes them particularly effective when grown together. Hardy geraniums weave at the feet of alliums. Nepeta softens the front of borders where Salvia nemorosa provides vertical punctuation behind. Helenium and Rudbeckia take the baton from Echinacea in late summer. Alchemilla mollis threads through everything, filling gaps and softening edges wherever it settles. Persicaria carries the whole thing forward into October. Aquilegia rises through it all in May, seeds itself into unexpected positions, and adds the element of pleasant surprise.

What makes this combination work, beyond the individual qualities of each plant, is the way they share an aesthetic sensibility. None of them are showy in the manner of dahlias or hybrid tea roses — their beauty is of a more naturalistic, unforced kind, closer to a wildflower meadow than to a formal bedding scheme. They look as though they belong together, and they look as though the garden they inhabit has been tended by someone with taste and confidence rather than assembled by committee.

A practical note on establishment: low-maintenance does not mean no-maintenance, and it is worth being clear that the first two years of any planting require more attention than subsequent years. Newly planted perennials need watering in dry spells while they establish, and they need weeding until their coverage is dense enough to suppress competition. The investment is modest and finite. After that, the garden largely takes care of itself — and that, in the end, is precisely the point.

All ten plants described here are available from good garden centres and specialist nurseries. For the widest choice of hardy perennial varieties, contact: Beth Chatto Gardens (bethchatto.co.uk), Dove Cottage Nursery (dovecottagenursery.co.uk), Broadleigh Gardens, or consult the RHS Plant Finder at rhsplantfinder.rhs.org.uk.