Shrubs for Small Spaces

Freshen up your front yard with these short, stylish shrubs—all under 5 feet tall, our expert picks for tallest small shrubs! You have a very small space, maybe just a patio, but you still want to grow shrubs. Or maybe you have a nice-sized yard, but it's filled to the max. Or maybe you prefer small shrubs because they look so cute! It doesn't matter what your story is: almost everyone can find a use for a small bush. Use our top picks as your guide to the best miniature shrubs for small spaces.

1. Raspberry Sundae Deuce

Unlike other Teutsia varieties that grow 6 feet or more, this compact, rounded cultivar grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. It has arching stems and large panicles of purple-pink flowers that attract bees and butterflies from mid-spring to mid-summer.

2. Midnight Wine Shine Weikela

The beloved midnight vine shrub gets a makeover with this selection. Enjoy its dark, shiny leaves and watch for hummingbirds at the tubular pink flowers that appear in spring and last until early summer. Grow in full sun and look to reach 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and 2 or more feet wide.

3. Bollywood Azalea

This semi-evergreen shrub is hard to miss in spring when the neon pink flowers appear. But it's no trick, as the colorful green and cream foliage proves. Bollywood's tallest habit is 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

4. Beyond Midnight Bluebeard

At just 24 to 30 inches tall and wide, this pollinator favorite features deep blue flowers atop glossy green leaves. It is a drought-tolerant option that is cleaner than other bluebeards.

5. Jazz Hands Mini Chinese Fringe-Flower

From ground cover to container plant, Jazz Hands Mini is a choice worth exploring. It's only 1 foot tall but grows 3 feet wide, so it's easy to fill empty spaces with its beautiful black-purple foliage.

6. Muco pine

Compact cultivars of muco pine offer year-round visual appeal with compact forms and dark green needles. As drought-tolerant shrubs, they do particularly well with rocks and boulders or as part of a dwarf conifer garden. Prune about one-third of the expanded growth, called candles, in early spring to control its size.

7. Firedance Dogwood

Dogwood comes in many shapes and sizes, so consider adding a little variety to your backyard. This Firedance cultivar lives up to its name, with reddish-purple foliage in the fall. It grows only 3 or 4 feet tall and prefers full sun. This shrub is a good choice for moist soils, slopes and rain gardens.