Lawns and Gardens
Fitting Big Color Into Smaller Gardens
By
Mar 12, 2007, 23:08

(NAPSI)-Small lots provide an unusual challenge to home landscapers: creating a colorful and vibrant landscape in a small space so that it appears larger than it actually is, without looking crowded or overgrown.

Smaller lots demand bright, multihued flowers, shrubs and bushes to balance the impressive scale of the home; yet traditional varieties of garden plants often grow too large for modern yards. Fortunately, plant breeders have developed many new varieties of plants that will stay small and compact, yet add months of color in very little space.

One fresh option for home landscapers is a new breed of butterfly bush. Known for its fragrant flowers that attract hordes of butterflies, the new English Butterfly series is a compact alternative to the older varieties, which can grow up to 8 feet high and several feet across. This scaled-down model grows only 4 to 5 feet tall yet still attracts butterflies of all kinds.

Hydrangeas, another traditional favorite, also have a tendency to take over smaller spaces. The Cityline hydrangea series developed in Europe, where small plots are the norm, grows only 3 feet tall. Four new varieties have the color of old favorites such as Pink Beauty, but require less than half the space.

Homeowners who want to use native plants in smaller gardens should look at the dwarf Itea Little Henry, which reaches just 3 feet in height, has fragrant summer flowers and vibrant orange fall foliage. Ninebark, another popular native plant, has also been tamed. While older ninebark varieties often grew to 10 feet, the more compact Summer Wine variety grows only 6 feet tall and has rich purple foliage for summer-long color. Better yet, Summer Wine ninebark is a disease-resistant alternative to the overly popular, purple-leafed sand cherry.

Of all the new "scaled-down" varieties, Weigela is perhaps the most exciting.

Old-fashioned Weigela, a long-time staple of grandma's country garden, has endeared itself to generations of gardeners with its adaptable nature and stunning spring flower display. But today's homeowners are reluctant to give up 5 to 7 feet of space for a plant that has little visual appeal after its spring flowers are gone.

The new generation of Weigela offers nostalgic homeowners colorful spring flowers and foliage in a smaller space.

Fine Wine, a more compact selection of the breakthrough purple Weigela Wine & Roses, matures to just 2 feet in height. Its sister plant Midnight Wine is even smaller-just 10 to 12 inches tall. Compare these smaller sizes to the original Wine & Roses, which may get up to 5 feet tall; yet all three have rich purple foliage and pink flowers.

The most stunning new Weigela variety is My Monet. At just 12 to 18 inches in height, this compact charmer fits into a garden or patio container. It brightens gardens long after its rosy pink spring flowers have bloomed, as its unique green and white variegated foliage often blushes pink as the season progresses. If garden space is extremely limited, My Monet still provides with maximum color with minimal effort.

Although many new varieties have been selected to grow shorter, there are also new varieties of plants with narrower widths. Homeowners looking for an easy way to add some privacy to the backyard should take a look at Castle Spire and Castle Wall holly.

These narrow, upright plants will form an attractive living wall along the property line and need only a few feet of growing space. Another excellent choice for screening is Fine Line buckthorn; it's also quite narrow and extremely cold-hardy, too.

It's easy to put colossal color into today's smaller spaces-without planting oversized varieties.

A garden center can help you select colorful, easy-to-grow plants that fit perfectly into your small yard and your jam-packed life. For more information on Proven Winners ColorChoice plants and to find the nearest retailer, visit www.colorchoiceplants.com.

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