Every time I open a garden or shelter magazine I gaze with awe at the things people do with their multi-acre lots. I covet their allés lined with scores of trees, their deep ponds and their mammoth kitchen gardens. These people have large plots and large plans and the assets to meld plots and plans into magical landscapes.
I would probably die of envy, if I did not have something infinitely better, something that none of them could even imagine–a regular-size suburban lot. My lot will never be large enough for all the plants that I crave, but if I arrange things properly, it will have plenty of variety and creativity. My garden experience has taught me that having a small box gives you a wonderful opportunity to think outside of it.
Having a restricted area is something like being a stick-thin supermodel. To be really successful you have to manage your appetite. For example, I have always wanted a grove of gorgeous twenty foot tall catalpa trees. Even one twenty foot tall catalpa tree would be the stuff of dreams, and if I really wanted to, I could go out and plant a catalpa sapling tomorrow in my front or back garden. But if I did that eventually I would have to forgo a couple of butterfly bushes, not to mention numerous roses and hardy geraniums. It’s not worth it. I know the location of every catalpa in my home town, and I visit them often. I just choose not to live in a catalpa’s long shadow.
Some shrubs have good small-garden qualities such as vibrant blossoms, interesting leaves or bright fall berries, but they are too bulky for limited spaces. If you want them anyway, it is sometimes possible to reduce their lumpy profiles by turning them into small trees or standards. This isn’t hard. All you have to do is cut back all but the strongest central stalk or stalks, lop off the lower branches and trim the remaining crown into a pleasing shape. Do this to flowering shrubs after bloom time is over. Keep removing the shoots that might turn into additional trunks or lower branches and you will have the equivalent of a small flowering tree with room underneath for spring bulbs and shade-loving perennials. You have effectively substituted a number of smaller plants for one large one with no loss of color or effect. Some multi-stemmed shrubs, like forsythia, may not be good candidates for this treatment, but you can still manage size by pruning them back dramatically after flowering.
You can also maximize the potential of your space by choosing compact varieties of your favorite plants. For example, old-fashioned “mophead” type hydrangea is a perennial garden favorite, with big flower heads that are great for fresh or dried arrangements. If your garden is small, try Hydrangea ‘Pia’, which gives you the same large, abundant flower heads on a plant that is only two to three feet tall. You can even emulate the fashionable decorators and grow ‘Pia’ in a galvanized tin tub. These days you can buy compact roses, peonies, daylilies and lots of other favorite perennials. You’ll have the same flowers as the Duchess of Devonshire and your plants will be scaled to complement the size of your garden.
Potted plants are also wonderful for small gardens, allowing you to drop in colorful accents when nearby perennials are not blooming. If you have some extra sunny space–say a corner of the driveway–you can use it as a pot nursery, cultivating potted specimens that can then be rotated into the garden. Put groups of these pots in trays to make watering less of a chore.
Tidiness is a must. On a large spread the weeds have lots of places to hide, and people are so busy looking at the big picture that they don’t notice bits of stray chickweed. Smaller spaces need better grooming. Fortunately it doesn’t take as long to weed, mulch or edge.
And finally, smallholders have to be ruthless about eliminating plants that don’t thrive. If you have sited a plant properly, tended it well, and it still doesn’t thrive, then pluck it out. The space you open up can be filled with something that works better in your particular garden. Looking at plants that are sickly or just not living up to their alleged potential is depressing. Not only is your garden too small for that, but your life is too short.
Even gardeners, the most fortunate people on the face of the earth, sometimes spend too much time lamenting what they don’t have. People with lots of shade wish for sunny spaces. People with all the sunny space in the world want to grow prize-winning hostas. If you are having problems with your garden, and the space is not a certified toxic waste dump, then chances are much of the problem is in your head. You will never smell the roses if you can’t imagine the possibilities.