Shrubs Worth Your Consideration —
Small Gardens Are Crying fo by Nina Koziol
Have you noticed
how plantbreeders are creating smaller shrubs, trees, and even tinier annuals? That’s because everyone seems to be talking about “small” gardens these days. Forget those big, beefy perennial borders of years past. Baby boomers are downsizing and don’t have the energy to garden on big lots. And those in the 18 to 34 year age group either don’t have the time or the interest in maintaining large gardens. They’re more likely to grow trendy houseplants, and pots of herbs or tropicals on a patio or deck. As a result, breeders and nurseries are practically flooding the market with Lilliputian plants. We can now get petite Knock Out roses, compact PJM rhododendrons, Tiny Tuff Stuff® mountain hydrangea (18” wide by 2 feet tall), Kelsey’s Dwarf Red-Osier Dogwood (30” tall and wide), itsy-bitsy annuals like the 6-inch-tall Brainiac celosia, which has a blossom the size of a cauliflower, and Kitchen Minis—super compact tomato and pepper plants sold in 4- and 8-inch pots intended for growing indoors or outside! Compact, dwarf, short—they’re all marketing buzzwords to attract those gardening in or designing for small spaces. But must everything be rounded, mounded blobs just because space may be at a premium? “Gardens are getting smaller— they’re not getting shorter,” says plantsman Tony Avent, owner of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, N.C. “There’s a time and a place for short plants but we need height!” You’ve no doubt encountered tight spaces—narrow walkways, foundation beds, confining spots along fences 36
and garages, and little borders in urban back yards. They warrant something that makes a statement without overgrowing the space. That’s where vertical plants and vines come in to play.
Living Large by Growing Tall
Many new varieties of woodies have been developed for limited, narrow spaces. Columnar trees—slender but tall—are useful in confined areas. Some examples include Dawyk’s purple beech, columnar English oak, and Green Giant arborvitae. Susie Eyre of the former Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery used an espalier of Rohanii purple beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Rohanii’) in a narrow bed for one client. “It makes a beautiful statement against the wall,” she said. Some plants have the word “fastigiate” in their name or description, which simply means tall and thin. Fastigiate plants add a very desirable vertical line to the landscape. Besides working as a screen, they can be used as a single specimen plant to provide a visual pop in the garden. Here are some favorite woodies for smaller spaces suggested by Todd Jacobson, head of landscape horticulture at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “You can see all of these plants at the Arboretum,” he said. (Check mortonarb. org to see current visitation requirements.)
The Landscape Contractor November 2021
Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’
Slender Silhouette sweet gum is a beanpole of a tree, growing about 45 feet tall but only 6 to 8 feet wide at the base. It creates a dramatic towering effect and adds an exclamation point to the landscape. Star-shaped glossy leaves turn a dramatic orange-red in fall.
