Dreaming of fresh fruit but don’t have a big yard? No problem! Small berry bushes are the perfect solution. They’re compact, easy to grow, and bring color and life to any space—even patios or balconies!
Let’s explore why berry bushes are a fantastic choice for small gardens and how to grow them successfully.
- Top Space-Saving Berry Bushes
- Landscaping With Small Fruit Bushes
- Growing Healthy Fruit Shrubs
- Get More Fruit With Less Room
Why Choose Berry Bushes for Small Spaces?
These small edible landscaping shrubs transform any garden into a fruitful paradise with minimal effort! Berry bushes are perfect for small gardens because:
- Take up little space: Many varieties grow well in containers or tight spots.
- Produce delicious fruit: Enjoy fresh, homegrown berries without needing a big garden.
- Add beauty to your space: Their flowers, fruit, and foliage are as lovely as they are practical.
Berry bushes are a delight because they’re adaptable, visually appealing, and prolific fruit producers! These bushes thrive in containers, raised beds, or small garden plots even in today’s smaller modern yards.
Top Space-Saving Berry Bushes
In addition to the line of Bushel and Berry® dwarf fruit bushes, there are so many other great options for you to choose from! Here are some of the best berry bushes available on NatureHills.com that are perfect for small spaces:
- Blueberry Bushes
- Raspberry Bushes
- Blackberry Bushes
- Gooseberry Bushes
- Currant Bushes
- Strawberry Plants
Landscaping With Small Fruit Bushes
Want more ways to use fruit bushes beyond the orchard? Go ahead and employ edible landscaping to get the most out of your curb appeal in one fell swoop!
Create Edible Borders:
Use berry bushes as natural borders along pathways or fences. Larger fruiting shrubs can be fantastic privacy hedges and screening!
- A Compact Oregon Grape Holly is a smaller version of the hardy native. It produces fragrant bright yellow flowers, holly-like foliage, and big juicy blue fruit!
- The Autumn Olive has unique fruit and greenery. This includes Ebbing’s Silverberry and the Olive Martini™ Elaeagnus which can be trimmed smaller or sheared into hedges.
- Alpine Currant Bushes are wonderful alternatives to Boxwood and Privet. Plus they have unique fruit for jam and juicing!
- With a manageable size and sweet-tart berries, Gooseberries have defensive thorns to keep foot traffic on the beaten path.
- Many thornless Blackberry options make harvesting a breeze and are ideal for small gardens.
Low-Hedge Option:
Use low-growing berry bushes as facer rows to hide bare leggy stems of larger shrubs. Or as low, garden-defining hedges as boundaries among your garden spaces.
- The unusual Taiwan Creeping Raspberry has unique leaves and red to salmon-colored edible fruit. Great as edging and groundcover!
- A Fall Gold Raspberry has a unique yellow fruit that will act as a pretty defensive hedge with its thorns!
- The wonderfully fragrant foliage of the Evergreen Currant is a wonderful low hedge or spreading groundcover.
Mixed Heights & Mixed Hedges:
Birds enjoy having choices. All wildlife benefits from biodiversity. Mixed hedges and shelterbelts help create this diversity. These areas should have tall, mid-sized, and low-growing shrubs.
Plant taller bushes like Chester Thornless Blackberries and columnar Elderberries in the back.
Use shorter bushes like Low Scape Mound® Chokeberry in the middle. Then mix in some Strawberry plants for edging and groundcover!
For something unusual, try a Marionberry, Boysenberry, or Gooseberry Bush.
The unique Blueberry relative, the Scarlet Ovation™ Dwarf Huckleberry has evergreen foliage all growing season. Plus tart, tangy dark blueberry-like fruit! Huckleberry are also great pollinators for their Blueberry cousins!
Add Color:
Some fruiting bushes have fragrant or vibrant flowers in addition to colorful fruit. Many even throw dramatic fall colors into the mix to enhance visual appeal!
- Try an Aronia bush like the Autumn Magic or a smaller-trimmed Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry bush.
- There are lemon-leafed and black-leafed Elderberries that are a bit larger but can be trimmed to any size you need.
- For stunning late-season fruit color, you can’t go wrong with smaller Beautyberry Bushes and their sprays of bright purple berries!
Fruit Bushes For Your Planters
Use large decorative pots, raised planters, or even hanging baskets to grow small fruit bushes. Compact and cascading fruit varieties work great on sunny patios or balconies.
- Try Bushel & Berry® Midnight Cascade® Bush in a hanging planter
- Small Blueberry bushes are perfect in planters because you can give them the exact type of acidic soil they need to do best. The Top Hat Blueberry is tiny! Growing just 2 feet tall!
- A Sweet Sunrise Passion Fruit Vine will happily cascade over the edges of a raised bed. These vines drape over the sides of a hanging basket or window box too. Or let them climb on a trellis in a planter!
Superfruits For Health
Aronia tops the list when it comes to packing a lot of nutrients and antioxidants into a small space. Other options for gardeners include:
- Goji Berry Bushes like the Proven Winners® Sweet Lifeberry® Goji
- Red or Black Chokeberry Bushes
- Blueberries are great superfruits that kids love
- Currants, like the Consort Black Currant Bush, are vitamin-packed powerhouses!
Espalier Techniques
Train bushes like the taller canes of Raspberries and Blackberries along trellises to maximize space. Or grow Goji Berry and Honeyberry Bushes on vertical arbors! Grape Vines easily become the perfect Espalier plant because they form tough woody trunks over time.
This makes vertical gardening and even vertical container gardening with fruiting plant options a breeze! Training fruit vines up a trellis or over an arbor also gives your seating areas healthy snacks that double as screening, shade, and privacy!
Best Berry Bushes for Birds, Butterflies, and Humans Alike
All fruit bushes produce plenty of flowers for pollinators in the early spring and summer. Plus fruit that you may find yourself fighting with the birds for throughout the summer and fall! So remember to plant some extra bushes to keep everyone well-fed!
Viburnums are fantastic for all wildlife and are wonderful four-season landscaping gems! Try an unusual edible American Spice Viburnum, a Brandywine Viburnum, or an All That Glitters® Arrowwood Viburnum among your bird-friendly flowering plants and perennials.
Growing Healthy Fruit Shrubs
Growing your own fruit bushes is easy! Find the right plants for your USDA growing zone then ensure you can give your new shrub these requirements.
- Sunny Spot: Most berry bushes need 6–8 hours of full sunlight daily.
- Good Soil: Plant in well-draining soil and use pots with drainage holes.
- Mulching: Mulch helps retain moisture and keeps weeds away.
- Pruning: Trim dead branches yearly to encourage healthy growth.
- Watering: Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy.
- Fertilizer: Regular fertilizing schedules keep plants producing and healthy.
Get More Fruit With Less Room
These easy-to-grow, productive small fruit and berry bushes are a must-have for any small garden! For your health, curb appeal, and wildlife, adding double-duty plants to your yard is easy. It works no matter how much space you have!
Get ready for jam and jelly! These are tasty toppings for breakfast. You can also use berries in smoothies, ice cream, and healthy snacks. Find berry bushes at Nature Hills Online Plant Nursery!
Explore the wide selection of fruiting plants, including container-sized fruit trees and Citrus, at NatureHills.com! We’re sure you’ll find the perfect fit for your space.
By following this guide, you’ll enjoy bountiful harvests and a beautiful garden all season long!
Happy Planting!
