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HOME GROWN continued
Joshua Peede
Landscape Designer & Gardener
ISCO Landscaping • Wilson, NC
SCC Landscape Gardening Graduate
Gardening Ideas for
Small Spaces
by Joshua Peede
In this day and time, many people live in
dwellings with very limited space to incorporate
landscaping, however they still enjoy the
comforts of settings that are influenced by
plants. A lot of plant breeding today is done
with the limited-space growing environments
in mind, and because of this, there are more
varieties of plants tailored to this need than
ever before. When making decisions about
how to green up your small spaces, you must
consider the limitations both in size and any
other physical setbacks that may hinder your
plant and practice choices. In this article, we will
take a closer look at the different options when
dealing with restrictive areas, as well as analyze
the various approaches in addressing the height
and depth of your green space.
With large
populations living
in neighborhoods or
gated communities
nowadays that
are governed by
a homeowner’s
association, there
can be a variety of
limitations placed
on you as far as
having the liberty
to do as you please
in your landscape,
without presenting
your ideas before
a committee prior
to installing new
material. Even the
strictest of HOAs do
not usually restrict
you in the use of
planters on a porch
or patio, and when
tastefully designed, they can add a lot to the look
of an entrance or gathering area. Your home
may not fall into the category of that mentioned
above, but you may still have limitations when it
comes to the amount of gardening area available,
and I want to give some information to help you
see different ways to make those small spaces of
yours feel a little bigger and more inviting.
A typical foundation shrub bed around a
home may vary in depth from 6 to 12 feet on
average, but sometimes you may not have that
availability as some surrounding structure or
surface may be inhibiting a traditional planting
bed. In many cases you may only have room for
a bed with a depth of 2 to 3 feet. This can limit
your choices, because most plants with height,
used in normal plantings have fairly broad
bases, outgrowing the selected area.
Following are some questions you need to
answer before proceeding with plant choices:
Is the planting zone going to be viewed from
more than one side? If planting alongside a wall
or structure, is there anything that you want to
accentuate, or on the contrary, disguise? Are
there any windows? Doors? These questions
are all part of the necessary decision–making
process needed to make the right plant choices.
If you are fortunate to have a bed or beds for
planting in your small spaces, then hopefully the
following tips and selections will help make the
design choices more compatible with the areas
of interest. When figuring out what plants you
will use, it is usually best to incorporate as many
evergreens as possible, so that it does not seem
bare in winter once the leaves on deciduous
plants drop. If you are looking for a narrow,
evergreen shrub with a mature height of at least
4 foot, then Dee Runk and Green Mountain
Boxwood, as well as Autumn Rocket Camellia
and Maki Podocarpus are some of my favorite
options. If you are looking for deciduous shrubs
that fit the same size category, then Golden
Rocket Barberry and White Pillar Rose-of-
Sharon are good choices. Hoogendorn Holly,
Rose Creek Abelia, and Green Velvet Boxwood
make nice selections for low growing, evergreen
shrubs, whereas Bobo, Pee Wee, and Tuff Stuff
Hydrangea, as well as the Pugster and Lo and
Behold Butterfly Bush series make great dwarf
and deciduous picks.
When working with a shallow bed against a
blank wall, you can plant a creeping vine that
will attach itself to the wall for some interesting
green coverage or obtain a similar result by
choosing a plant that would normally grow too
large for the space, and train it into a form called
“espalier.” To train a plant into an espalier, is
to prune lateral growing branches against a
wall or trellis, so that it has a flat appearance,
but covers a large area of vertical space. Good
plant selections for this type of training include
apples, pears and other fruit trees, as well as
shrubs like camellia, firethorn, and roses. Little
Gem Magnolia is also a tree that can be used in
this application, but needs a fairly large wall or
space to spread its branches.
It is generally a good idea to fill in some of
the bare places with ground-covering perennials
in your beds to create that layered appearance.
My short list of some ground covering perennial
favorites follow: Berkeley Sedge, Everillo
Sedge, Liriope, Pachysandra, Ground Phlox,
Candytuft, Sedum and Creeping Jenny. Even
though there are many other options available,
I believe that these plants listed above will
give you a trustworthy selection from which to
choose.
One of the most common categories of
gardening in limited area includes planters.
Planters come in all shapes and sizes, with
many different uses, but are chosen due to the
versatility and mobility offered. The ability to
take your prized plants with you during a move
can be enough of a selling point for some. There
are endless uses for containers or planters,
whether it is a couple of stately urns with formal
boxwoods and ivy draping over the pot’s edge or
a single specimen planter with a low, spreading
Japanese Maple. Maybe your planters are either
long and wide and planted with a few herbs
and vegetables for your culinary needs, or they
include a collection of multi-sized pots on the
front steps with pansies or violas for winter
color.
Another idea is to use a planter to house a
vine next an arbor or pergola, where there is no
open ground in which to plant. Providing a cover
of foliage and flowers overflowing the structure,
creates a sense of surrounding and serenity. In
that same planter covering the overhead vine,
add some small companion plants to help
dress up around the base of the vine. Another
idea for planters is to incorporate some holiday
decorations or lights during the time of year
when it is more difficult to get seasonal color.
Lastly, do not forget that you can use hanging
baskets for added interest in the landscape.
These can be planted with anything from ferns
to flowers and a lot in between. So, if you are
feeling limited on your gardening abilities
because of your limited space, then do not give
up hope, because the possibilities are endless
when you use some creativity to find the best
solutions for the space you are given. Survey
your property, determine the focal points,
accentuate the things you want noticed and
buffer the things you want hidden. Best wishes
with all your gardening ventures! ☐
I want to
give some
information
to help you
see different
ways to make
those small
spaces of
yours feel a
little bigger
and more
inviting.
No. 137 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.29