Nestle a triangular planting bed into your front yard's sidewalk-defined angle, add a section of picket fence to anchor it, and you'll end up with almost instant curb appeal. Use this tiny corner garden plan to create a quick-color display that will also effectively deter pets and pedestrians from cutting across your lawn. Packed with sun-loving bloomers, the design features a mix of easy-growing annuals, punctuated with a few low-maintenance perennials. A tall butterfly bush fills the corner with deep purple flowers that pollinators can't resist. Hummingbirds also love to visit the petunias, cosmos, zinnias, cleome, and penstemons. At dusk, stroll by this garden for a whiff of sweet perfume from the flowering tobacco.

Most of this garden's color faces the street, so it enhances the view for passers-by. To add more color on the back side to enjoy from indoors, simply duplicate some of the plant combinations in front of the cleome (stairstep the plant heights so the cleome isn't upstaged). If you like, you can place a few stepping-stones or pavers to allow easy access into the bed for planting and deadheading flowers.

Plants for Creating the Tiny Corner Garden Plan

9 Moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora): Zones 9-11; annual elsewhere
9 Narrow-leaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia): Annual
12 Dusty miller (Senecio cineraria 'Silver Dust'): Zones 8-11; annual elsewhere
2 Petunia × hybrida: Annual
6 Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata): Annual
12 Cosmos bipinnatus: Annual
4 Gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta 'Irish Eyes'): Zones 3-7 (often grown as annual)
2 Feather reedgrass (Calamagrostis × acutiflora): Zones 4-9
3 Penstemon 'Maurice Gibbs': Zones 7-10; annual elsewhere
1 Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii 'Nanho Blue'): Zones 5-9
7 Spider flower (Cleome hassleriana 'White Queen'): Annual
1 Speedwell (Veronica 'Fairytale'): Zones 4-8

If you aren't able to find the exact cultivars listed above, substitute with others that have similar colors, shapes, and sizes. And because some plants can become overly aggressive and spread out of control in certain climates, always check which species are considered invasive in your area before planting. For example, butterfly bush can become problematic in some parts of the country, so you may instead want to plant similarly sized bluebeard that also has purplish flowers that draw pollinators.

Get the Free Tiny Corner Garden Plan

The garden plan for this design includes an illustrated version of the planted garden, a detailed layout diagram, a list of plants for the garden as shown, and complete instructions for installing the garden. Free, one-time registration allows unlimited access to all garden plans, available as printable PDFs.