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Native Plants for Small Gardens

Native Plants for Small Gardens

Native plants have a reputation of being wild and unruly, ignoring boundaries and growing wherever they wish. This reputation makes some gardeners wary of allowing them in their gardens.  This is especially true of gardeners with small gardens.  Gardeners that must work in strict boundaries are often cautioned at the wandering nature of native plants.

However, there are many well behaved, mild-mannered native plants that will support wildlife and keep your garden looking eye-catching all season long.  We’ve listed several species below to get you started.

 

Native Plants for Small Shade Gardens

  • Jacob’s Ladder
  • Wood poppy
  • Michigan Lily
  • Hepatica
  • Partridge berry
  • Bottlebrush Grass
  • Smooth Penstemon
  • Ostrich Fern (Is a large fern, but makes a big impact as a feature plant in a small garden)
Small garden’s need not house small plants. While you will want to limit the number of large specimens, adding a few feature plants will pull focus and create eye-catching focal points.  Ostrich fern, blue false indigo and lead plant offer unique foliage, colour and texture.

 

 

 

Native Plants for Small Sun Gardens

  • Culvers Root
  • Tall Ironweed
  • Virgin’s Bower (Vine)
  • Purple Prairie Clover
  • Harebell
  • Wild Quinine
  • Indian Grass
  • Butterfly Weed
  • Prairie Smoke

 

Small gardens are usually only limited horizontally, so where the sky is the limit, take advantage of some of Ontario’s native plants that can bring height to your garden.  Ironweed, Indian Grass and Michigan Lily make great additions to a small garden, adding height without the excessive girth.

 

Trees & Shrubs for Small Gardens

  • Saskatoon Serviceberry
  • Leadplant
  • New Jersey Tea
  • Mapleleaf viburnum

 

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