Plants for Small Gardens

How to choose plants for a small garden

Buy the mature size, not the plant in the pot. In a large garden an overgrown shrub is a pruning job; in a courtyard it is a renovation. So start every decision with two numbers, the height and width the plant reaches at maturity, and hold the line at plants that finish under about 4m tall unless you are deliberately planting one canopy tree. The second rule is to make every plant do two jobs. A dwarf magnolia screens a neighbour and flowers. A potted lemon feeds you and fills a sunny corner. A columnar lilly pilly gives privacy on a footprint narrower than a wheelie bin.

Small trees that earn their spot

One well chosen tree lifts a small garden more than a dozen shrubs. Compact crepe myrtles such as 'Acoma' and 'Zuni' finish near 3m with summer flowers, autumn colour and beautiful winter bark. Magnolia 'Little Gem' and 'Teddy Bear' hold glossy evergreen leaves on a narrow frame of 4m to 5m, ideal against a fence or wall. Pencil pines give formal height on a footprint of barely 1m, and citrus in pots stay wherever you put them. For the full range of options under 6m, see our small trees for urban gardens.

Screening without losing space

Standard screening plants spread 2m to 3m wide, which can swallow a whole side passage. Columnar selections fix this: Lilly Pilly 'Straight and Narrow' reaches about 5m tall while holding roughly 1m wide, planted 60cm to 80cm apart for a solid screen. Climbers do the same work in even less ground: a star jasmine on wires covers a fence from a strip of soil 30cm deep. Keep any hedge at least 50cm off the fence line so you can trim behind it.

Small gardens across Australian climates

Compact spaces create their own microclimates, and they are stronger than the state you live in. Paved courtyards in Perth, Adelaide and western Sydney bounce heat, so choose drought and heat tolerant plants for those hot walls and save the softer growers for shaded corners. In Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart, walls work the other way, trapping warmth that lets you grow plants a zone warmer than the open garden. In Brisbane and further north, prioritise airflow: give gardenias, citrus and crepe myrtles space between them so humid air keeps moving.

Planting and care in tight spaces

In garden beds, dig each hole twice the width of the pot, water in well and mulch 75mm deep, keeping mulch clear of stems. Small beds dry out faster than open ground because walls and paving steal the rain, so water deeply twice a week through the first summer. For pots, go no smaller than 40cm wide for shrubs and 50cm to 60cm for dwarf trees and citrus, always with premium potting mix, and expect to water two to three times a week in summer. Feed everything with controlled release fertiliser in early spring and again in late summer, and prune lightly after flowering rather than hard once a year: little and often keeps small garden plants in proportion.

Common questions

What is the best tree under 5m?

For flowers and bark, a compact crepe myrtle. For evergreen structure and screening, Magnolia 'Teddy Bear'. For scent and fruit, a potted 'Eureka' or 'Lemonicious' lemon. All three stay in scale on a courtyard block.

I have a 1m wide strip. Can I still screen a fence?

Yes. 'Straight and Narrow' and pencil pine both hold close to 1m wide at full height, and both take clipping if you want them tighter. Plant 60cm to 80cm apart and the screen closes within two to three seasons.

Can I keep a bigger plant small with pruning?

Within about a third of its natural size, yes; beyond that you are fighting the plant twice a year forever. It is cheaper and kinder to buy the dwarf form, which is exactly what this collection is for.

What about growing in pots only?

A whole garden can live in containers. Most plants here are flagged for pot suitability, and the dedicated plants for pots collection narrows it further. Everything is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a 30 day healthy plant guarantee.