The most common complaint I hear is, “My plants are too big.”

Another version of this problem is, “My plants always need trimming.” Or, “My bushes are too crowded.” Or, “My plants never bloom” because the blooms are trimmed off every month.

Too often, we arrange our plants like furniture, so they look nice and cozy around each other after they are planted. (Been there, done that.) Instead we should think of them as children, who will grow and fill out as they mature. Read the tag and determine how large this shrub or tree will grow. Get out your yardstick, and imagine the plant full size. Plant it in that imaginary space. It may look lonely at first with all that space around it, but you are doing it a big favor. You can fill the space with temporary fillers such as Mexican heather, dune sunflower and annual flowers. But do not crowd your babies.

So much energy is wasted on plants improperly spaced. Noisy, gas-guzzling trimmers fight the plant’s genetic destiny to grow up. We fertilize them one week and trim them the next. It seems the very definition of fruitless!

Another consideration is distance from the house. Some houses have a path around the house under the eves, which seems smart, especially this time of year when it often rains. Plus, it is usually shady there. If you prefer to have shrubs right next to your house walls, at least come out 3 feet. You want to have room to walk next to the house when you repaint. There is diminished light and rain under the eves. Plants too close to the wall will reach for the light and tend to grow sideways, away from the wall. Plant them where they can just grow up. Large bushes and trees will need to come out much farther. Again, look at their projected size and get out your yardstick.

Perhaps you had a landscaper plan your plant design and trust them to space them properly. Think again. They may take advantage and charge you for twice as many plants as you need for the space. If it results in pretty plants arranged attractively close to each other, you may be thrilled with the results. But in just five years, you may be angry with the whole yard requiring too much maintenance. It’s not the fault of the plants.

It is the fault of the planner. In my case, that is me. All too often I have put a plant too close to the house, too close to the driveway or just too close together. To imagine how large a firebush will get is so difficult for me. My yardstick is more objective and it helps.

Although I love large plants in certain places, in recent years I have been on the lookout for small yet long-lived plants. Small ground covers and flowers only last a season or two. The goal is low, woody shrubs that will stay low under windows and live for decades. Here is my short list: Indian hawthorne, Mrs. Schiller’s Delight (a dwarf Walter’s viburnum) and dwarf yaupon holly. I am trying out horizontal cocoplum, which is quite wide but not tall. I even found a ground cover that lasts for years, looks like holly with red berries, and only gets about 6 inches high: quailberry (Crossopetalum ilicifolium). It is a Florida native plant that likes to grow in our soil full of shells and sand.

May all your plants grow just the right size!

Mark your calendar: Tropical Plant sale at Rotary Park in Cape Coral, Saturday, Oct. 19.

Sherie Bleiler volunteers at the Cape Coral Library Butterfly Garden and is past president of the Garden Club of Cape Coral. Visit www.gardenclubofcapecoral.com and like us on our Facebook page.