Nowadays, a low maintenance garden seems to be at the top of everyone's list.

With the ever increasing demands on our lives from work and family, I see many people who are searching for the holy grail - a beautiful, tranquil outdoor space to which they can retire at the end of a hard day with a cool glass of Chardonnay but to which they are not a slave.

Who wouldn’t want all the glory without the work? Unless, like me you are the constant gardener.

Happy to spend every spare waking moment on your knees in the border, head swimming with latin names and subscriptions to every garden publication available on this fair isle. For us, it’s the never ending journey, rather than the destination that’s so important. But if everyone took such a deep interest in gardening and design, I’d be out of a job! So, let me get back to my point.

No garden is ‘no maintenance’ but there are a few ways to reduce your horticultural workload.

On a summer Saturday morning, neighbourhoods are buzzing with the sound of lawn mowers.

I’ve met many individuals who feel the simple route to a lower maintenance garden is reducing the size of their lawn. But if you’re really daring - get rid of it all together.

In this country, the majority of gardens consist of a perimeter of beds bordering a patch of grass but the green stuff need not always be the heart of a garden.

Swap the lawn for the calming effect of a gravel garden or go for a contemporary look with sawn sandstone paving and rendered raised beds enclosing a quiet seating area.

Clever and careful selection of plants will keep a lawn-free garden green year round and choosing low maintenance species will keep your workload to a minimum. Evergreen shrubs provide year round interest and structure in the garden but they don’t have to be dull and un-interesting.

The purple leaved Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Tom Thumb’ can be shaped into an attractive dome to punctuate a border, bamboo-like Nandina domestica ‘Fire Power’ will give you a lot of bang for your buck with summer flowers and fiery autumn colour and an evergreen grass such as the coppery leaved Carex testacea gives great contrast to white washed walls in a contemporary setting.

Closely following behind lawns in the ‘high maintenance’ stakes is weeding. The best way around it in my opinion is mulching once a year.

The few weed seedlings that may pop up can be quickly and easily ripped out. I’m absolutely not a fan of planting through a weed-suppressing membrane (it’s really only practical with shrubs) but I can’t argue with it’s effectiveness!

Mixed, herbaceous borders are not low maintenance so if you’re after stunning, RHS Wisley standard cut flower border with little effort you may need to think about calling in the cavalry.

But a truly beautiful low maintenance alternative can be created with a little know how and imagination.