Smaller Yards Need Smaller Plants

 

As urbanization takes on a life of its own, home builders are faced with the need for smaller homes on smaller lots.  Homes are spaced closely, and attached homes have even less outdoor space.  Condos, and semi-attached homes still need to feed the need for outdoor spaces.  Patios and yards with limited green space have made small plants a must-have and the nursery industry is stepping up to offer some great options.

This patio is enclosed for a private space for this homeowner, but notice the neighbors just over the wall.  Screen plantings are useful here, but typical plants may outgrow the space.  Dwarf varieties will serve the purpose and allow the space to function as a gathering place. 

 

Here are a few of the many varieties of dwarf plants that may help landscape a small space. 

Small shrubs mature size is usually about 5 feet, and dwarf shrubs mature at about 3 feet  at most.  These mature elements can be very important detail when designing a small garden.   

 

 

This Blue Shag Dwarf white pine has blue-green long, soft needles and it's globe shade tops out at 3 - 4 feet high and wide.  Here the Blue Shag is flanked with Elijah Blue Fescue grass clumps that also remain small.

 

 

Mahonia aquifolium 'Compacta' is a multi-season plant that just keep giving.  Common name is compact Oregon Grape Holly. It stays small at 2 - 3 feet. This low maintenance  shrub has new leaves with a bronze/red color and turns to a green during summer.  Fall leaves turn a purple/red color and remain all winter. Birds are attracted to this Grape Holly berries and it is deer resistant.  This shrub does well in containers, too, and can be a nice potted plant on the patio.  Grape holly is hardy in Zone 5a - 9b.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many small gardens need tall plants to expand the view upward.  Here, conifers are placed against the backdrop of a wall.  Pruned varieties have a stem that extend the foliage up, and visually keeps the space from feeling crowded. 

 

 

These ground covers spread and droop along the ground. Both are thyme - the top one is Archer's Gold Lemon, and the lower picture is Wooly Thyme.  The texture of these plants is small, and dainty and does not overtake the small space.  Also, since this is a small seating area, the luscious aroma of thyme will permeate the area and create another pleasant feature of a small garden.

 

Keeping a small space tidy could become difficult if leaves drop, or petals fall on the patio or deck. Dwarf English boxwood is an evergreen shrub that adapt well to containers or small spaces, and except for a nip or snip occasionally stay neat and tidy. 

English Boxwood are hardy in Zone 6 - 8 and grow to about three feet tall.  

 

A pretty flowering shrub that stays small is a Regent Serviceberry.

 

 

Regent Serviceberry is a compact shrub with bluish-gray foliage and white blooms in early summer.

Great fall color and edible fruit make this plant pretty for three season each year. This shrub grows up to 4 - 6 feet so it may not be suitable in a really small patio. 

 

 

Juniperus squamata 'Meyeri' is a drooping variety that only grows to 3 feet.  Ideal for evergreen color in a small garden.  The cool blue color is spectacular, and this juniper is hardy in Zone 5 - 8. 

 

Many shrubs are available in compact varieties.  Local garden centers and nurseries will have many choices.  Keep in mind the mature size of any plant that you may purchase.  Keeping size manageable in a small space will enhance the feeling of a coziness, and will keep maintenance to a minimum.  More time to relax in a small garden.

 

 

 

 

 

I have highlighted other small plants in a post and you can see them here.

 

Just because our outdoor space is small, does not mean we can not have a lovely, relaxing garden to enjoy.

 

 

 

Garden Gifts Are Blessings

Gift of Sights – Blessing #8

Certainly the actual gift of sight is what is viewed with the eye.  But for this exercise, I am referring to the views we see with those eyes in the garden.

Gazing up through the trees, to a cloudless sky is a blessing.  Looking across a field of wildflowers, gently swaying waves of color is certainly a gift. Watching a pollen laden bee tirelessly working another blossom is a gift.

 Pleasing sights are truly a blessing.  Some elements that the eye finds pleasing are symmetry, proportion, shapes, and color.

These shapes of the oval or the columnar work as features in the garden.

 

Trees and shrubs come in various sizes and shapes.  Shapes that are tall in the landscape draw the eye upward and take in the vastness of structures and views.  Plants that are low and round enclose and area and make us feel cozy.  


By grouping plants in sets of odd numbers, the eye picks this out to be pleasing.  Use three, five, seven, or more is lovely, and a gift from the garden.




Multi-trunked  River Birch is used as a focal point. The eye seeks out the structural element and its shape and texture add to the beauty the eye sees- a place to let the eye rest on its journey.

 



This Redbud, Forest Pansy, stands out a specimen tree in this landscape.  The leaves keep this pinkish mauve color and grouped here among the foundation plants, is a great focal point. The subtle shades in the garden are calming, refreshing and often come with a sigh putting the body and the mind at rest.


 

Something as simple as this fountain creates a lovely sight and a focal point too.  The peachy colors tie into the surrounding plants, and the tall, burgundy cannas to the back offer balance.

 Bouncing colors against another in the same hue, or shade, is not difficult.  If you like the combination, the combination is perfect. A gift of color and style create an interesting sight.



Any border in the garden  should move the eye around from front to back, and draw the visitor along into the garden. Here the taller roses are at the rear, with a medium planting of sage, and the low, front of the border is parsley.  This is a nice combination of color and balance; a blessing of a beautiful sight in this border.




Two common elements of these borders are the smooth curved edges.  This feature is done well and is a gift for the eye to behold. The smooth transition from the lawn and border gives the eye a continuous line to move it along. Cut deep so the grass isn't running back into the plants, or with an edging of stones to keep the line crisp, these beds are enjoyable.

Curves offer an easy transition for the eye and act as a frame of a masterpiece when outlines of grass and mulch define the view.


If this straight lined garden pleases your eye, perhaps it is the offset of the center path.  Or the placement of round, curved stones. The eye can find pleasure in this lovely space. Cool colors and a quietness fill the space.The uncluttered space lets the view become a meditation area as the eye and mind reflect on life.





Containers can be simple with just one plant type included.  But when a large planter is being featured, remember the combination of, ‘Spillers, Fillers, and Chillers’.  Spillers refer to the draping plant around the outer edges; the Filler is the middle plant of medium height, and the Chiller is the tall centerpiece. This arrangement is stunning and the eye will appreciate how the motion moves up and down, and back again.  Truly a blessing.




This entry way is done well.  The curve of the walk, the varying heights of the plants, and the focal point of the globed standard in front of the window make this landscape a pleasant sight for the eye.  All is proportioned well.  ( Front beds depth needs to be 1/3 of the height of the outside wall.  If the side of the house is 12 feet high, then the border bed should be at least 4 feet from the foundation.  Proportion in plant height should be considered too.  A bed of 6 inch begonias against a 12 foot siding, would not please the eye.)

The eye goes to color.  As in this photo of a contemporary garden, the orange artwork is accented by red/orange mulch.  In this case the plant material is the backdrop of the art. Very well done, and a blessing to the eye.

Likewise, moving a single color of plant - say a white phlox - through the garden lets the eye move from white to white. Viewing the landscape in this way allows the eye to see the whole area, and take in the subtle changes in shadows, light, and color and is truly a gift.  .



So many views of the garden, and each one changes from week to week, and season to season.  As a few colorful plants spend down their bloom time, another scene comes into focus, just as interesting, and just as pleasing.   Each is a gift, and a blessing to see.
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Thanks for visiting Gardening Naturally with me today.  Do you have a favorite view in your garden?  Please share it with us. 

Planting Spring Blooming Flowers

Tubers, Rhizomes, Corms, Bulbs 

  
Getting spring blooming flowers in the ground in the fall seems, to many, a misstep in thinking. But that is exactly when spring blooming bulbs need to be planted.
So many times while I was working at the garden center I had folks come in and ask for tulip bulbs or daffodils bulbs, or hyacinths ‘plants’ in March.  Sadly, March is when these beauties are strutting their stuff, but  March is not the time to plant them.

There are so many spring blooming flowers in the market place this time of year.  But not all spring bloomers are bulbs. 
Many of the smaller flowers like crocus and anemones grow from corms. When planted in the fall, the corms will develop roots.  Adding bone meal into the planting hole will help these and all spring bloomer’s roots grow. 



Tubers are a form of root that looks like this: Daylilies  dahlias, begonias, and some lilies grow from a tuber.  In my zone 6 garden however, dahlias and begonia tubers would not survive the frozen soils.  Zone 8 climate is milder and dahlia tubers will over winter safely. I need to plant dahlias and begonias after the last frost, in May.
Rhizomes grow plants like iris and ginger. 

Iris are hardy in my garden, but ginger, being a tropical (Zone 10) can be started in containers indoors and moved outside after the threat of frost passes (May 15 in zone 6).  Iris rhizomes are plants at the soil surface with the bottom in the soil where the roots will take hold.
Of all of the spring blooming flowers, bulbs are probably the best known of the early bloomers, Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are the most popular and relatively easy to grow. 

But these two early bloomers are snow drops and scilla. Always exciting to see them in late winter, when everything else is still muddy and gray. 

Muscari, or grape hyacinth, are small in height, usually four to six inches tall.  The scilla will be about six inches high, and the more popular tulips and ‘daffs’ will grow from six inches for some varieties, to 24” for others. 
These height variations will determine which blubs get planted in front of a planting or behind others to be seen.


As this chart shows, the bloom time is also considered in the planting scheme.  Planting bulbs depth is determined by the diameter of the bulb circumference.
Bigger bulbs need to be planted about 3x its size in depth.  


The same reasoning applies when planting a container. Spring blooming bulbs can easily be grown in containers.  I have not needed to give the pot any special care over winter, but if sub-zero temperatures are common in your area, the container may do better in a garage, or unheated shelter.

Planting en mass is a great way to get a colorful impact.  The planting hole is large and bulbs are set in.  If planting layers, cover the larger bulbs at the bottoms of the hole, and continue raising each group of bulbs.  
Digging a hole for a group of bulbs is simply done with a shovel.  However, if individual bulbs are being placed in the landscape, a few tools will make this job easier.






Any color you can imagine comes in a spring bloomer.  Mix pastels, or mass vibrant reds. Plant oranges with purples, or plant white and reds.

    The fragrant hyacinth is my favorite.  And when cut, they brighten any room. I really like the double blooms of daffodils. Look for the parrot tulips or the peony size tulips, stunning.

Any combination is a joy.  Check out garden center displays. Bulb companies have marketed color schemes and the possibilities are endless.  They have also packaged a mixed garden for a succession of blooms in the spring.

Fall planting of spring bloomers is important for good root establishment which enables the bulb to have energy to grow that first shoot, and then foliage, and then blooms.  Getting the bulbs in before the ground freezes is vital for this process. (However, I have known a procrastinator or two who planted bulbs over Christmas break, and the flowers did just fine.)

With 90 degree temps again this week, I find planning for fall premature.  But getting those bulbs into the landscape now will have endless rewards in the spring.
What are your favorite spring bloomers?  Do you put any in containers?  Thanks for stopping by today, and have fun picking up a few new residents for the garden.