Plants for Small Gardens

One of the most important aspects of successfully landscaping a yard or garden, particularly a smaller garden, is choosing your plants.

If the garden itself is the meal, then the colors and the textures are the flavors that mingle in that “meal”.

Successfully landscaping a small garden means creating elements that can be used to a specific purpose, such as screening you from the neighbors, hiding some unsightly thing, or shading an area, or even controlling erosion of the soil in your small space.

Choose plants for your small garden space based on several aspects of the plant:

The first way to choose plants is by their growth habits and the plant characteristics. Many people don’t take into account the growth that the plants will reach at full size, how far they will reach, what they need for light and how well they will tolerate light, heat, and what kind of soil is going to work best for them.

If your small garden is largely in full sun and sandy soil in Nebraska, and you plant it full of plants that only do well in full shade and under trees, such as the Lady Slipper, chances are its not going to do well.

Likewise, if you want to plant a large oak tree within a few feet of your back wall, when the tree achieves full growth, the roots are going to interfere with pipes, and sometimes even with the homes foundation.

Planting something when its a tiny cute little sprout, without considering what’s going to happen when its not that little sprout, what the characteristics of the plant or tree are when its achieved its full growth is going to mean that when it does reach that full growth, its not going to work for you, but may in fact work against you.

Avoid buying for your small garden on impulse. Small garden spaces take a bit of planning and consideration before you put in that giant oak tree. What might work better for you is a flowering shrub, or a smaller tree that has a less invasive root system.

Rule #1 – Don’t plan your garden or landscaping at the nursery or garden center. Do a little homework. Know a little about the plants before you buy them and take them home.

You can use the plant databases page for reference and get yourself a good plant encyclopedia in your library. You’ll save a lot of time and frustration being able to look up plants according to your specific zone, type of plant, color, characteristics, by name, and so on. They’re also very handy to carry with you into the garden or to the nursery.

Another common mistake in choosing the right plants and propagation is made in the area of zoning. Its extremely important to know which planting zone you live in and plant accordingly.

I am amazed at the number of nurseries and garden supply centers that carry plants that aren’t even zoned for their area. Now, some of these plants are great for placing outdoors in pots during the summer but they have to be moved indoors during the winter. Unfortunately nobody tells you that.

Most generally you can trust the little plant selection tags that come with the plants but sometimes you can’t. Its best to check with the plant databases or your plant encyclopedia for specific zoning in selecting plants.

Primary considerations for selecting landscape plants

# Height and Width are figured by the mature size a plant will reach in both upward and outward directions. Not calculating this can cause serious problems in the future.
# Form is the shape of the plant and how it will occupy and accent space. Form and shape are considered as columnar, round, vase, weeping, oval, creeping, etc.
# Texture is the fineness or roughness of plants. It can also be categorized in terms of leaf thickness and shade(light or dark) of plants. As a rule, plants with finer textures should be used in greater numbers than plants with coarse textures.
# Seasonal interest and color are figured by the special features a plant has at different times of the year. Foliage, fruit, flowers, Winter color, changing colors, etc.

Secondary considerations for selecting landscaping plants

# Insect and disease resistance
# Sun or Shade
# Moisture tolerance
# Drought Resistance
# Soil Type

Plant selection for best design and effect.

A few well-selected plant varieties can have more impact and appeal than a mix match selection of one of these here and one of those there. Unity is achieved in garden design by consistency.

Planting in groups of 3′s, 5′s, 7′s, etc. also gives a sense of intentional design, balance, and unity.