Smaller is More Beautiful
Tips for a Small Space Garden
If small is beautiful then smaller must be more beautiful.
At least that is what I tell myself as I survey my postage stamp of a backyard. I remind myself that some of the sweetest of serene spaces are small gardens, tucked away, out of sight.
A tip for a small garden is to celebrate the small touches. Try adding little surprises in a plant bed like planting some ‘Lidakense’ sedum in front to spill out in summer.
My small verdant retreat is where I can place a chair or two, sip a cup of tea, tend to the garden, admire my planters of flowers and foliage. And I may even write my substack, ‘pleine aire’, so to speak.
A tip for small gardens is to have colorful outdoor furniture that is not too large for the space. The table and chairs can serve as a artful element in the landscape.
Small gardens call for small plants – although normal size plants look great when first planted, in the years that follow, they may grow to overwhelm the space. A beautiful native small tree that fits within certain small outdoor spaces is the redbud (Cercis canadensis). It flowers in early spring and heart-shaped leaves follow the flowers.
The following diminutive plants are perfect for small gardens, in containers, along walkways, in rock gardens or as low growing ‘filler’ plants in plant beds.
Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' is one of my favorite succulents. It grows about 6 inches high and spreads out among rocks, pavers, in flower beds. It is a chartreuse yellow- green that spreads and spills out. Easy to grow, hardy and quite the eye catcher!
Hostas, known for broad foliage and tolerance to shady conditions, have miniature varieties such as the Mouse Ear collection. These pocket sized hostas have wonderfully textured, heart shaped leaves. Two of the blue mouse ear hostas are H. ‘Country Mouse’ which has blue leaves, edged in white, growing to 4” tall and 9” wide and Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, the 2008 Hosta of the Year, which grows to 6” – 8” tall and 18” wide and has lavender flowers.
‘Pandora’s Box’ Hosta is the top choice of the American Hosta Society for miniature hostas. It has tiny leaves (2" x 1½") with a creamy-white center and a contrasting, blue-green margin. Lavender flowers appear in early summer. Mature size is 4" ht x 10" spread.
Hosta 'Stiletto' is named for its striking, narrow, lance-shaped, leaves. The foliage has a cream or gold tinged margin and it sports lavender striped flowers in late summer. Mature height is 8” tall and spreads about a foot. Its eye catching narrow leaves look great in pots.
Miniature Roses are also perfect for a small space garden but they need at least 6 hours of full sun in summer. The hardy Lavender Jewel (Moore, 1978) grows no higher that 24” tall and has shapely, lavender blooms all summer long. Dark glossy green foliage is disease resistant. Height 18 to 24 inches. (Zone 4)
My own particular favorites are the compact varieties of Carex or sedge. These grasslike plants offer an amazing choice of colors, stripes and textures - there are over 1000 species. Natives of bogs, they like wet to moist soil. In my small garden I grow several cultivars by a dry stream and they look great.
I like Goldband (or Evergold) Japanese Sedge, (Carex morrowii 'Variegata') which has droopy, graceful white and green striped grassy foliage. It looks fantastic when used as ground cover or planted in groups.
Thank you for subscribing to Gardentopia - I appreciate all you garden lovers in my on line life! Let me know if you want me to talk about anything in particular - anything related to landscape design and plants.
Thank you for these thoughts! I wish you could see my garden...I'm just south of Peekskill, in case you ever come this way. The 1,630 daffodil bulbs I planted this past fall are blooming everywhere, new peonies, and waiting on many azaleas and rhododendrons, with daylilies growing strongly...this August I will have been here 50 years...I wonder if the Garden Conservancy would be interested in my garden, or if it's just not "finished" enough...
Take care...it's a wonder, and an honor, to read your posts...to be connected to you a little bit...thank you so very much for your caring presence, wisdom, kindness, always sharing your exceptional visions of beauty...
I, too, love this post. I use this concept of "smaller garden" for different areas of my larger 2 acre garden...I, too, have a Buddha, tucked under an almost 50 year old Serbian spruce, the first tree I planted here. My question is about the metal furniture. I have two vintage metal chairs...they are lovely, but I have not been able to figure out what color to paint them. Right now they are rusty white... I have thought of red, as there might be a red bridge in a Japanese style garden, but I don't have a bridge. I have thought of muted green or moss green. I know I don't want yellow, blue, black/brown.
I love the Buddha photo, and the dry stream bed...you must have moved, since I remember reading about the giant rock your husband wanted, was delivered and remained where they had put it (if I remember this story correctly!)...loved that story, because I, too, love rocks...
Happy Spring!