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Small Shrubs, Big Impact By Jan Riggenbach In the midst of the perennial craze almost 20 years ago, I interviewed Indiana landscape designer Barbara Kaczorowski for a feature for Midwest Living magazine. Barbara surprised me by predicting that the next big garden trend following perennials would be garden shrubs.
At first,
the idea seemed pretty far-fetched to me. Barbara quickly won me over,
though, by pointing out some advantages of shrubs: They provide a lot of
flower power for the cost, add winter “bones,” tend to live an exceptionally
long life and--best of all-- never have to be dug up and divided. Soon after that interview, I took a good look at my own garden and didn’t see much in the way of structure, or “bones.” Taking Barbara’s advice to heart, I planted a rose of Sharon to add height to a bed of garden phlox and added a “wall” of cotoneasters to create a new garden “room.” I also planted a ‘Red Prince’ weigela in a perennial bed. Its flowers were beautiful and attracted hummingbirds, but the shrub eventually grew eight feet tall and wide, threatening its companions. It had to go. In its place I planted several dwarf weigelas that have both lovely pink flowers and colorful foliage, too. I now count on the burgundy-purple foliage of Midnight Wine® and the green-and-white variegated leaves of My Monet™ weigelas to add color to that garden bed throughout the growing season, whether the shrubs are blooming or not. With each one making a low mound only about a foot tall, there’s plenty of room remaining for companion plants such as coreopsis and roses. At the time Barbara made her prediction, the mere mention of shrubs tended to conjure up thoughts of space hogs like old-fashioned lilacs and forsythias, best relegated to the hedge row. I certainly never imagined that the small weigelas and dozens of other new pint-size shrubs—all potential partners for perennials in garden beds—would help make her prediction come true. These days, I actively seek out the newest and latest in exciting shrubs. I love the multitude of white flower clusters that cover ‘Little Lamb’, a compact panicle hydrangea. It reigns over my green-and-white border, where it’s surrounded by white daisies and chrysanthemums and silver sage (Salvia argentea). Sunshine Blue® bluebeard (Caryopteris), with its yellow leaves and blue flowers, is the perfect addition to my yellow and blue garden. Several specimens of the shrub now share garden space with blue salvia, yellow meadow rue, cushion spurge, blue lyme grass, and bottle gentian. Little Henry® Virginia sweetspire shows off in the shade of a small maple, first with spires of white flowers that attract butterflies in early summer, then with outstanding reddish-purple foliage in autumn. Little more than half the size of big brother ‘Henry’s Garnet’, Little Henry® leaves some room for cranesbills, foamflowers, and coral bells. There’s nothing short about Fine Line® buckthorn, which can grow up to seven feet tall. But its narrow, upright shape makes it easy to fit into any bed where I want a little height, and its lacy, fern-like foliage makes a delightful backdrop for perennials. Since Fine Line® is extremely winter-hardy (zone 2), it has no difficulty surviving winter in an above-ground container in my Iowa garden. I’ve fought aggressive buckthorn seedlings before, so I’m delighted that this cultivar proved non-invasive in university testing.
Living on
an acreage where native elderberries behave like bullies, I never expected
to be planting elderberries in my garden. The delicious-looking foliage of
new cultivars of European
Soon after my husband and I moved to an acreage more than 30 years ago, I started a butterfly bush from a seed. It still thrives today, taking a lion’s share of the space in my butterfly garden. Visitors who have small city gardens are aghast when they see its size: 12 to 15 feet tall and wide, despite the fact that I cut it to the ground every spring. Now, thanks to smaller and superior named varieties, I can enjoy additional butterfly bushes in other garden spots. My favorite: Adonis Blue™, which grows only a third as big and has darker, showier flower clusters. How could we gardeners not adore all these beautiful, easy-care shrubs? Many have naturally small forms that require little or no pruning. All add interesting forms, colors and textures throughout the year. No wonder shrubs are replacing perennials as the next big craze!
About Jan Riggenbach Jan Riggenbach’s newspaper and magazine columns have been inspiring Midwest gardeners for more than 30 years. “Midwest Gardening,” Jan’s syndicated garden column, appears weekly in newspapers throughout the region, including the Chicago Daily Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Omaha World-Herald. Jan is also the garden columnist and a feature writer for Midwest Living magazine and the author of “Midwest Gardener’s Handbook.” Jan and her husband Don live on 30 acres at the eastern edge of the Loess Hills in southwest Iowa. About 3 acres are in gardens, where Jan grows hundreds of different flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables, and tests and photographs the plants and techniques that she writes about. The couple shares an interest in trees and shrubs and has more than 500 species. You can visit Jan’s website at www.midwestgardening.com.
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