You may also need a slightly different theory of garden design than the one you use now.
The Limited Palette
The thing I noticed most on my tour (other than the weeds that have apparently been taking growth hormones when I last saw them before the monsoons hit) was that the most trouble-free of my garden spots have a fairly limited plant palette. If a garden relies mainly on four or five dependable perennials then the gardener can even afford to plant something in need of pampering because the scheme is such a simple one. For instance, I have one garden that is basically planted with daylilies, sun tolerant hostas and Perovskia - Russian sage (Zone 4 and higher). The daylilies get deadheaded when I get around to it. The hostas need almost nothing unless I want to cut off the flower stalks then the blooms fade. And all I do to the Russian sage is to cut it back in late May and in July so that it gets nice and bushy without flopping.
That's the whole show and all I need to do is wander through with the circle hoe every couple of weeks to get the weeds.
Deadhead 'Til You Drop
I wouldn't recommend daylilies if you're a real neat-nik since they demand deadheading constantly. If you can't bear to live with the faded flowers for a couple of days then forget it. But deadheading a big batch every few days can be a rhythmic, soothing activity if you're into repetitive tasks.
Some plants are ultra easy. All the gardener needs to do is cut them back when they are past their prime. These plants seldom need dividing and aren't prone to many pest or disease problems.
In one really easy care garden I have mostly heaths, heathers(hardy to zone 4) and dwarf conifers. The heaths and heathers needed a lot of water the first year to get them established, but other than that they only need to have a haircut when the blooms fade. Since they all bloom at different times, some even in winter, the task never gets terribly demanding. The biggest maintenance problem in this bed is the weedy grass that keeps poking through the prickly rug juniper. I've tucked a few more daylilies into this area, mainly for foliage contrast, along with a few lavender bushes
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