Hi, I have a very small (10' x 10') garden plot in front of my Washington D.C. city townhouse. It is raised off the sidewalk and surounded by a low stone wall. I am looking for a good short shrub or other kind of plant that won't grow higher than 2 feet, can look neat and that will spread a little to cover the wall to discourage people from sitting on it (and littering into my garden). But it needs to be short enough that people can still see over it and look at the plants behind it. the area is part shade. right now there are some hybrid tea roses that look terrible and take way too long to maintain. Any advice?
miniature roses, some shrub roses eg. mabelle stearns 2 1/2 ft. some polyanthas
may work for your zone
I agree I'd dump the hybrid teas, you could probably go with a smaller rugosa rose
and if it was a little too high just prune it back.
rugosas you don't spray, long season of interest hips in the winter thorns to keep people out. There's a lot more to roses than hybrid teas!
* Ilex glabra 'Shamrock' is short, but more upright.
* Symphoricarpos x chenaultii would spread over the edge of the wall; I see one source says to 6' but others say to 2'...my experience is definitely more along the lines of 2'...it's a bit of a spreader.
* Itea virginica 'Little Henry' may also be a spreader
* Rhus aromatic 'Grow Low' has good fall color
* Viburnum opulus 'Nanum' is a nice plant
* Leptodermis oblonga lists at 1.5' but mine is closer to 2-2.5'
* Chaenomeles japonica might be perfect. Thorny. Available species with heights from 1 to 3 feet.
Many other choices...various Forsythias, Hydrangeas, Hypericums...
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