by Kristina Howley for Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs
Imagine walking into a garden specifically created to welcome – to welcome your family and friends, to welcome delivery people, to welcome you and yours home. It embodies the feeling of love. The space has been carefully designed using a limited color palette, extravagant blooms, lush foliage, and rich fragrance. You’d feel comfortable and excited for the moments to come. This is precisely how we want visitors to feel when they come to our spaces! Our gardens are the first experience they have during a visit, and they can be a fantastic welcome.
It can be challenging to get started with a garden design, so we created seven plant collections as examples of how you might mix colors, play with details, and ensure there was interest for an entire growing season. Each collection has a notable theme or satisfies a specific environmental requirement. Rest assured, any space can turn into the visual equivalent of a hug – welcoming and warm.
Read on to find plant lists and a few garden designs for inspiration!
Flowers and foliage in warm burgundies, soft pinks, or white make an impression that is subdued, yet powerful in its simplicity. An entryway garden designed with this aesthetic in mind is not only impressive, but irresistible too. This plan bounces color back and forth across the sidewalk, creating a visually and physically enveloping experience. Perfect for starting a visit off on a positive note.
Muted colors and flowy forms are the perfect elements for creating an inviting space. Each plant in this collection features rounded or loosely clustered flowers and a mounded habit. These soft features provide a sense of calm. With an emphasis on variations in texture, any space can feel lush and diverse. Even a little corner planting like this one. Designed for a spot that is just 20 square feet, it’s packed with interest and still easy to maintain.
Phlox hybrid USDA zones 4-8 Full to part sun 2′ tall and 2.5-3′ wide
When you experience the bleakness of a long winter, you rely on your garden to boost your spirits during the growing season. Reliable plants are a must-have to make sure those daydreams don’t become dull disappointments. This island garden bed is filled with super cold-tolerant plants that will emerge triumphantly in spring to provide interest throughout the growing season (and into the winter if dried flowers and seed heads are left standing). Visitors will look forward to seeing what’s in bloom each time they come over and marvel at the abundance of each plant.
Sedum hybrid USDA zones 3-9 Full sun 1′ tall and 1.5′ wide
A walk through nature might be one of the most rewarding activities we can do with loved ones. With this plant collection, you can embrace the second-best activity! Enjoying a garden filled with native plants. They’ll attract pollinators and wildlife to your space, inviting you to observe their activity together. This design acts as a front lawn replacement for a small space, just 10 feet by 7, totaling 70 square feet. It’s filled with plants native to North America and remains interesting in each season, thanks to flowers (both fresh and dried) and foliage (both colorful all season long and glowing for fall).
Phlox hybrid USDA zones 4-8 Full to part sun 1.5′ tall and wide
General Design Tips
For small spaces, choose three species of plants with distinct mature sizes – small, medium, and large. Use just 5-10 plants total to keep the space uncrowded and cohesive.
For plantings against a wall or fence, put the tallest plants at the back and go down in size to the edge. For island plantings, put the tallest plants in the middle and work down in size to the edge.
Try to disperse each flower color evenly throughout the garden. Consider which season each plant will bloom in.
Position plants with different foliage textures next to each other to provide visual contrast.
Provide interest for each season, especially winter if you find yourself feeling the seasonal blues.
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By Natalie Carmolli, Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs
Pantone has named Cloud Dancer its 2026 Color of the Year, marking the first time a true white has taken the honor. It’s never too late to add white-blooming shrubs to your garden or patio plantings. To learn more click here for an interesting article.
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