Many green thumbers and veteran senior gardeners have opted to grow
in small garden beds. Here are six (6) small flowering shrubs that add lots of seasonal color from early spring to late summer. All six are easy to maintain; check the easy-care info at the end. Plants can also be grown in 12 inches or greater wide containers.

Sugar Baby Forsythia® (Forsythia x Nimbus) is a very compact, dwarf forsythia, 2.5 feet height and 3 feet wide that will delight in a small space. (Zones 5-8).

Wabi Sabi® Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum) bears pure white lacecap blooms in early spring on 2-3 feet tall x 3-4 feet wide compact shrub. Flowers lay flat on the horizontal branches. (Zones 5-8).

Baby Kim Lilac (Syringa x) is a delightfully fragrant lilac that is packed in a lot of flower power. Its dwarf habit takes up just a fraction of the space of other lilacs. Fragrant pale lavender flowers fade to white. Rarely pestered by deer or disease. (Zones 3-8).

Incredibelle Wee White® Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) This compact floriferous hydrangea grows just 1-2.5 feet tall and is covered in pure white mophead flowers from late-spring to late summer. Stems are sturdy and never flop. (Zones 3-8).

Polypetite® Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a brand-new space-saving althea that grows 3-4 feet tall and wide habit with a rounded shrub form. It rarely needs pruning. In summer, it’s loaded with large lavender-pink blooms contrast with its dark blue-green foliage. Polypetite® series are almost seedless, so no nuisance seedlings popping up everywhere in your garden.

Firelight Tidbit® (Hydrangea paniculata) is a compact panicle hydrangea grows 2-3 feet tall and wide. In mid-summer flowers start white and develop their pink coloration in late August. It has a long bloom period for 3+ months. The cultivar is an improved compact form of the taller 6-8 feet tall Firelight®. (Zones 3-8).

General Care: Grow shrubs in full sun (6+ hours), part sun (4-6 hours), or full shade (up to 4 hours) and well-drained soil. Feed all six shrubs with 10-5-10 granular fertilizer in spring or water-soluble Miracle-Gro® two times in spring and summer. Mulch around shrubs to conserve water and suppress weeds. When necessary, prune the first four (4) flowering shrubs in spring immediately after spring flowering; prune by 1/3 in spring. The two compact hydrangeas listed here are pruned on old wood in spring.