DOWNSIZED PLANTS
Patio sized exterior spaces are becoming more prevalent, yards are becoming smaller, and there's an emphasis on exterior “rooms” requiring more defined areas. Plants have been “redesigned” to meet these space requirements. The ever-inventing scientists have tweaked the attributes of plants, handing them to us on a smaller, lush platter. Your grandmother’s 12’ lilac that you so loved is now available, downsized in half, to a 4-6’ shrub, depending on the variety selected. The plants listed below can be used in smaller areas and still provide a similar look to common, larger specimens.
DECIDUOUS TREES & SHRUBS
Maple Euonymous Hydrangea Oakleaf Hydrangea Weigela
'Bowhall' 'Rudy Haag' 'Pink Elf' 'Pee Wee' 'Tango'
Maple: ’Bowhall’. When property scale is reduced, a typical maple’s 40’ width just will not do. 'Bowhall' maple is an excellent choice. 40'-50'T x15-20'W.
Burning Bush: ‘Rudy Haag’, has an excellent fall color, as to be expected from a burning bush. 3'-4' T x 3'-4'W
Hydrangeas: ‘Pink Elf’ 1.5'T x 2'W; ‘Pee Wee’ 4''T x 3'W, Oakleaf Hydrangeas, provide continuous blooms from late spring to fall, a plus in the garden.
Weigela: ‘Tango' 24" T x 24"W, a great answer to introducing burgundy into the garden (instead of using the thorny barberry), without the straggly growth pattern of many weigeleas. Also, check out ‘Dark Horse’, not as large as ‘Wine & Roses'.
EVERGREEN TREES & SEMI-EVERGREEN SHRUB
'Jean Dilly' 
'Fat Albert' 
'Serbian' 
'Tom Thumb'
Spruce: ‘Jean Dilly’ 4'T x 2'W, a fantastic smaller upright plant. Consider using it in a container for year-round greenery.
Spruce: ‘Fat Albert’, 10'-15'T x 8'-12'W, instead of the larger ‘Colorado Blue’ spruce. This spruce provides that desired foliage color for a smaller space.
Spruce: ’Serbian’ 25'-35'T x 15'W, can nestle close to a house without it out-growing the space. It is a tall, gorgeous, hardy evergreen.
Cotoneaster: ‘Tom Thumb’1' T x 2'-3'W, an irresistible low growing shrub that provides texture, fall color, petite spring flowers and red berries to your landscape.
FAVORITE PLANTS
The “Downsized Plants” (listed above) represent some of the outstanding varieties available for your landscape. And, in addition to them, below is a limited list of other plants that you might want to consider.
DECIDUOUS SHRUBS
Clethra 
Clethrea-all types. This plant’s versatility of light requirements, plus fragrance, leaf gloss, fall color, and later time of bloom-August and September- makes it a very desirable option.
Hydrangeas-all types. This plant group gives a profusion of bloom, for a long period of time, many taking full sun and some even semi-deep shade. Some even provide fall color with interesting bark texture.
There are three primary bloom forms that this plant offers: Ball shaped, like “Endless Summer’ 3'-5'T x 3'-5'W, or white ‘Annabelle’3'-5'T x 3'-5'W; flat topped, a “lacecap”, such as ‘Blue Billow’ 4' T x 4'W; or conical shaped as seen on a ‘Snow Queen Oakleaf’ 8' T x 10'W. Remember many hydrangeas’ color can be changed by you when adjusting the soil's PH level from pink, to purple, to blue, depending on the acidity of the soil.. Think, you could have three plants with three different colors!
'Endless Summer'.jpg)
'Annabelle', shown with two acidically affected hydrangeas
'Blue Billow' 
Oakleaf Hydrangea- 'Snow Queen'
Potentilla: ‘Gold Finger’, 3'-4' T x 3'-5' W; ‘Frosty,1' T x 3'W, are excellent for a full sun location, blooming for many months. (Some varieties can become straggly though).
Roses: ‘Knockout’ Finally, a low maintenance, disease resistant, almost bug free rose! (Aphids still might show up). After the frustration of trying to grow hybrid teas, this is a Godsend plant. 3'-4' T x 3'-4'W Japanese beetles prefer other plants to this one.
Winterberry- all: For a visual rescue during the dreary winter months this profuse, red- berried plant is stunning. Remember this is a holly plant, therefore, you will need one male plant (berriless) as a pollinator for up to 5 female plants to produce berries.
Potentilla: 'Goldfinger' & 'Frosty'; "Knock Out' Roses
Winterberry: Wintertime, cuttings, foliage
PERENNIALS
Agapanthus: A California transplant myself, I am able to enjoy this blue-blooming, popular plant in my mid-west garden. Go with the Dutch varieties, not the African ones, for hardiness.
Coral Bells- all varieties, to interject either a burgundy (‘Purple Mountain’), amber (‘Amber Waves’), green (‘Firefly’), or variegated leaf color (‘Mint Frost’), with a fantastic ruffled texture- you can’t go wrong with this plant. So many adorable variations exist; pick whichever catches your fancy.
‘Purple Dome’ Aster: For fall color in a striking purple that holds its bloom and shape for a long period of time, you can’t beat this specific aster.
Agapanthus 'Purple Mountain' 'Amber Waves' 'Firefly' 'Mint Frost' 'Purple Dome'
GRASSES
‘Flame’, is great for autumn coloration, with nicely formed plumes, this mid-sized grass fills in a garden space of 4' T x 3' W.
‘Little Kitten’ 2.5' T x 2.5'W, a petite grass, larger than ‘Little Bunny’ (1' T x1'W) another grass favorite of mine, it is not overwhelming, instead is neat and compact.
'Flame' 
'Little Kitten'
DECIDIUOUS TREES
Japanese Maples: With over three hundred varieties to choose from, it comes down perhaps to site setting when selecting this type of plant. If the tree has a larger leaf, it is usually more hardy, such as ‘Bloodgood’ 15' T x12'W, and the finer, more delicate the leaf, called "laceleaf" or "dissectum", the more prone the tree is to windburn and sun scorch. Japanese maples come in green, golden or red-burgundy foliage. When purchasing a Japanese maple take time to study the form, because it is one of the strong aspects of this plant.
Crabapple: ‘Red Jewel’ 15' T x12'W crabapple is a winner in my book. The profusion of springtime white flowers, the exceptional disease resistance attributes, and the beautiful red berries that consume this tree during the winter (especially against the white snow, it’s breathtaking) makes this mid-sized crabapple possible in almost any setting.
Ornamental Pear: When everyone planted ‘Bradford’ pears they were unaware of their poorly structured limbs. After a good wind, these older limbs would snap, oftentimes leaving only half the tree remaining. Enter the ‘Cleveland Select’ 25'-30' T x 15' W, a restructured pear with all the glorious characteristics of the ‘Bradford’- dense, early white blossoms, glossy leaves, good root habits, outstanding fall color- but with a better branching design. And because of the narrower growth-only 15’W final-it can be nestled near a house or patio.
'Bloodgood'
Dissectum Jap. Maple
'Cleveland' Pear, spring 
'Cleveland' Pear, fall coloration
EVERGREEN TREES
Spruce: ‘Hoopsi’ 30'-40' T x 10'-15'W. This stunning blue evergreen introduces not only foliage color into the landscape, but a gorgeous structure to highlight an area. It is visually compatible with many different settings and plant material.
Norway Spruce: ‘Sherwood Compact’ a narrow version of Norway spruces. 15'-20’ T x 8'-10’W, these dimensions make this tree an excellent element in a scaled-back garden. It is hardy, and like most evergreens will do best in a drier, well-drained site.
Pine: ‘Vanderwolf’ pine has a marvelous variegated needle, that isn’t stiff and prickly like some pines. With a 20'-25’T x 10'W final growth. This slow growing, hardy evergreen is one to consider.
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'Hoopsi' Spruce; 'Sherwood Compact' Spruce
'Vanderwolf' Pine
“LOLLIPOP” TREES
“Lollipop” trees is the term I like to use for petite trees that provide moderate height in the garden, and a visual transition from shorter plants to taller ones. They range in final height and width from 6'-10’, depending on the variety selected. Basically, many “Lollipop” trees are really a grafted shrub therefore, what you know the shrub's dimension to be, that is what to expect from your tree's dimension.
DECIDUOUS TREES
Crabapples: Hydrangea- 'Pee Gee' Dwarf Lilac
'Sargentina', 'Sargent',
'Coralburst'
6'Tx6'W; 8'Tx8'W; 8'x8'W 8'-10' T x 8'-10'W 4'-6' T x 5'-7'W