The New Big is Small! Flowering Shrubs

While writing my new book, The Right-Size Flower Garden, I became fascinated by new ‘downsized’ versions of popular flowering shrubs.  These miniaturized plants have BIG personalities but are perfect for smaller gardens and containers.  

Below are three spring blooming superstars that may have you digging out ‘their big brothers’ for tidier, more compact replicas.  If pruning is necessary, do so right after they finishing flowering.

Forsythia ‘Starlet’

Many forsythia quickly overgrow their bounds and also sucker aggressively.  ‘Starlet’ is charming and well-behaved, only getting 2’ – 3’ tall.  The dazzling yellow flowers illuminate the spring landscape.  ‘Starlet’ does best in full to part sun and is hardy in Zones 4 – 8.  Underplant it with spring blooming bulbs that are deer resistant and naturalize, like Daffodil ‘Minnow’, with fragrant white flowers and buttery-yellow cups.   ‘Minnow’ is one of the minor bulbs that only get 5”- 6” tall and is a blooming machine with 3 to 5 flowers per stem.  Check out Brent and Becky’s Bulbs for a wonderful selection!

Abeliophyllum distichum

Abeliophyllum distichum, commonly called White Forsythia.   I first discovered this bewitching shrub when a friend shared a division from her Saratoga Springs, NY garden.  Abeliophyllum is a relative of forsythia, but has highly fragrant, almond-scented white flowers that appear slightly before yellow forsythia.  Commonly called white forsythia, it is smaller in stature, with a mature height of only 3’ – 5’ tall.  Mine is at least five years old and remains at 3.5’.   It enjoys sun to part sun and is hardy in Zones 5 – 8.  Pair this gem with Checkered Lily (Fritillaria meleagris), a dainty-looking, but tough as nails, naturalizing, spring blooming bulb with purple and white checked flowers or solid white ones.  Fritillaria is deer resistant; hardy to Zone 3 and can handle being planted under Black Walnut (I told you it was tough!)

Weigela ‘Crimson Kisses’

This new, repeat blooming shrub is being introduced by Monrovia, a premier grower.  You can actually shop for plants on their web page, Monrovia.com, and have them shipped at no charge to a participating garden center near you!  ‘Crimson Kisses’ only gets 3’ tall and 3’ wide, quite different from many weigela that can explode in size.  As you may have guessed, the flowers are a brilliant ruby red and attractive not only to gardeners, but also hummingbirds.  Weigela does best in full sun and is hardy in Zones 4 – 9.  Going along with the above underplanting theme, dig in some Cammasia (Wild Hyacinth) around the base of ‘Crimson Kisses’.  The riveting deep blue, starry flower stalks open later than many spring blooming bulbs, which is good as Crimson Kisses doesn’t bloom until later in May.  Like the other bulbs, Cammasia naturalizes and is deer resistant.

If you like reading our blogs, please sign up for our monthly e-newsletters that are filled with featured plants, gardening products, design and maintenance tips, information about gardening events and more.  Visit our home page to enter you email or click here.  Also like us on facebook.