Midget plants add interest and color to the garden

P.T. Barnum introduced the world to one Charles Stratton, a tiny child, 4 years old, but said to be 11. This boy was taught to drink wine and smoke cigars, so he appeared even older.

Noting the tiny insect the midge, Barnum popularized the term “midget” for tiny people.

Midgets or dwarves have a special place in folklore, and as it turns out, in the garden. While lots of kids love sunflowers, the typical stalk reaches up to 10 feet tall, and needs a huge garden spot. Try the Sunspot sunflower (Helianthus annuus). The classic dinner plate-size 10-inch flowers are atop plants that are only 2 1/2 feet tall! The flowers have a cheery effect, with brown centers and bright yellow petals. The full-sized flower heads yield huge amounts of edible seeds for birds and humans. You can even press healthy sunflower seed oil from the seeds. The short, sturdy plants make a great hedge or windscreen. You can plant them en masse or at the backs of borders. Best of all, Sunspot will bloom just 60 days from direct seeding in the garden. For a fluffy alternative sunflower try the dwarf Teddy Bear, with fully double fluffy yellow blooms on short 3- or 4-feet-tall plants.

Delphiniums are a wonderful graceful plant that can reach over six feet tall. The dwarf Magic Fountains Delphinium (Delpnium elatum, D. grandiflorum) grows a more manageable 3 to 4 feet tall. has one of the widest ranges of color with lilac, cherry rose, deep blue, lavender, sky blue, and pure white, all with a distinctive color or bee in the center of each bloom.

Because of their shorter stature, Magic Fountains tolerate windy locations without staking. Start Magic Fountains seeds indoors about two months before setting out the plants into your garden. For better germination freeze the seed packet for about five days before sowing. Cover the tiny seeds lightly. After six to eight weeks, transplant into individual pots. Harden off Magic Fountains delphiniums and plant out after the last frost. Once your plants bloom, cut them back almost to the ground right after flowers fade to encourage a second bloom in fall. They benefit from a mulch to keep the roots cool.

The tiny Thumbelina Dwarf Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) has all of the colors of the rainbow in a dwarf plant. The 6- to 8-inch tall Thumbelina Zinnias are perfect for pots and window boxes or as elegant masses of bloom in the garden. Because they are easy to grow and keep well in a vase once picked, Thumbelina zinnias are popular cut flowers. Like all zinnias, Thumbelina does best in full sun.

Fields of swaying, wispy cosmos have a soothing effect on gardeners. Most cosmos reach 4 feet tall and can overwhelm a small garden. The dwarf cosmos Sonata (Cosmos bipinnatus dwarf) has all the whimsy of taller varieties but grows just 1 to 2 feet tall. This tender annual will often self sow where it is happy. The wide flowers bloom in white, pink and reddish mahogany. Sonata cosmos start flowering in midsummer and keep blooming their heads off right until hard frost. Direct seed Sonata cosmos in the garden after danger of frost has passed. They do best in full sun and tolerate poor soil. Cosmos attract many beneficial pollinator insects, and can improve yields of vegetables when planted nearby.

So if you crave flowers that only grow big and tall, remember that size isn’t everything even in flowers, and try one of the smaller dwarf or little flowers. Like small people or tiny animals, dwarf flowers have all the charm and sometimes more of their taller counterparts. Just don’t call them midgets.