Container gardening and smaller nursery beds require more diminutive plants. The early spring pleasure of some blooming bushes should be available in smaller forms. Dwarf summer blooming varieties can bring berries for wildlife feeding. The rise in urban gardening has encouraged the development of smaller plant specimens of all types for the small space gardener. There are numerous dwarf shrubs and bushes available to help landscape the petite garden or patio.
Fall blooming
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is a small shrub with purple blue flowers that will bloom until October. Its foliage turns a bright orange and red after the flowers have gone. Spirea "Shirobana" is a classic bush with red, pink and white flowers from June to October. Caryopteris is a dwarf shrub with amazingly bright blue flowers for a short period in August to September. Many of the spring and summer blooming plants will give way to amazing color displays in fall and fruits or berries for animals.
Summer Blooming
Hypericum "Orange Flare" blooms all summer with bright yellow flowers followed by orange-red fruits in fall. Hydrangea "Rosy Summer" will produce huge pink heads all summer long. Spirea japonica "Gold Flame" has brilliant orange foliage all summer and striking crimson flowers. Abelia grandiflora blooms in September and lasts into the fall with pale pink and white panicles. There are several cultivars of Cotoneaster that bloom in summer with tiny little white flowers.
Spring Blooming
Flowering Almond (Prunus glandulosa "Rosplena") blooms in April before it even leafs out. It is considered a dwarf, but it does grow to 5 feet tall. Chaenomeles japonioca is a dwarf flowering quince that will brighten up the landscape in early May. Bronx Forsythia is a dwarf bush with bright yellow spring flowers. Fothergilla gardenii blooms in May and has long white spikes and interesting fall color. Winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum) is the earliest and hardiest jasmine, blooming in February to March. Spike, Provence and Purple Broom all have flowering periods in May. Bunchberry is a miniature dogwood that displays large white flowers in May to June.
