Take a tour of a great no-chores backyard
Pro surfer Timmy Reyes, 27, spends his “work” days up in a plane or on the water, not at home in Costa Mesa, California. He needs a yard that can fend for itself for weeks at a stretch.
Design to the rescue: Easy-care plants and materials create a garden that can fend for itself for weeks at a stretch.
Click ahead to see how durable furnishings, bulletproof plants, no-fuss flooring, and clever details make it work.
Care-free garden: Durable furnishings
Rattan chairs are fairly inexpensive (Pier 1 Imports sells similar ones for $150) but don’t weather well.
To protect them from sun and rain, designer Brooke Dietrich coated them with marine spar varnish.
Care-free garden: Bullet-proof plants
These aeoniums, papyrus, cordylines, kangaroo paws, and small palms need no fertilizer or pesticides—only occasional watering by a drip system and a little pruning.
They also easily tolerate shifts from sun to rain.
Care-free garden: Hide a wall
An imposing cement-block wall made Reyes’s yard seem small.
Rather than replacing it, he chose a cheaper, faster option: Cover it with bamboo fencing (calibamboo.com).
Low-fuss decking
The deck is made of Trex, a composite of wood and plastic that needs no refinishing and doesn’t splinter or rot.
A hose, brush, and soapy water are all that’s needed for light cleaning.
Clever hardscape
A poured concrete patio like this is practically maintenance-free.
And it doesn’t have to be boring; a wide band of black river pebbles makes this one look like a bold area rug.
