In a tiny courtyard, in a side yard or wherever a garden just needs a pretty punctuation mark, skinny plants fill the bill. Plants with slim profiles can have a big impact.

A columnar yew or holly, a twisting topiary juniper or a slim boxwood can all fit into a small space without overwhelming it. Skinny plants stay in scale, so you can enjoy your green oasis without having to struggle to control a plant that only wants to outgrow its space.

"Hybridizers -- and nature -- have made sure there are all kinds of plants for tight spaces," says Kate Karam, a landscape architect who works with Monrovia, the international wholesaler that grows and introduces thousands of ornamental and edible plants.

Slim-profile plants have a way of making any landscape look a little more formal, Karam says, but that formality isn't necessarily out of character even in a country garden. A tall, narrow conifer or two will give an informal cottage garden a touch of class, she says. In a formal garden, skinny plants simply enhance the tailored look.

Evergreens of all kinds are among the most obvious choices for tight spaces, but annual and perennial flowers and ornamental grasses also fit nicely into tight spots. H. Paul Davis, a landscape architect in Washington, D.C., likes the effect of tall, wispy ornamental grasses, such as feather reed grass and big bluestem, which add a lot of drama to a small space.

"If you have a limited space, you really have to make a careful selection," Davis says. He looks for reliable, adaptable plants that do not demand excessive pruning and pampering, and he recommends combinations of shrubs and perennials, rather than just one or the other. "Horticultural diversity is healthier and more interesting" than the repetition of a single plant again and again, even if it's a beautiful plant, Davis says.

In his own tiny garden, Davis has a hedge of upright Green Tower boxwood, which can grow to 9 feet tall but is only 1 to 2 feet wide. In a water garden in a flowerpot, he grows papyrus (sometimes called umbrella sedge), which grows up to 4 feet tall in the course of the summer: Its green flower spikes seem to spray like fireworks from the tops of the tall stems.

Standard-trained hydrangeas (pruned to resemble small trees) also work well in spots that call for compact plants, Davis says. He likes canna lilies in pots, too, for their upright stature and bright splash of colorful blooms, which attract hummingbirds, even in the city.

Garden designers often turn to skinny plants to help define the spaces in a garden -- they might emphasize the line of a path, for example, or accentuate the corners of a patio. Upright plants can be used to frame a pretty view, or to hide an undesirable one. Along a wall, a few slim upright plants break up the solid face and give the garden "more interesting definition," Karam says.

Skinny plants in pots are fun, too. "They give you a whole different texture and add rhythm and scale," Karam says. "They're not used in pots as often as they should be." Slim plants in pots might frame a garden gate or stand sentry on either side of a doorway. Tall plants in pots placed in flower beds are exceptionally striking, like living sculptures in the midst of summertime's exuberance. Sky Pencil holly is a great evergreen for a pot, Karam says, but lots of other skinny plants also work fine in containers, and they can be left in the same pot for years. In cold climates, of course, plants in pots may need protection in the winter.

Tall, slim plants help tie together the elements of any garden design: The eye moves naturally -- even eagerly -- from one to another. In larger gardens, they're a graceful middle story, a vertical link between the garden beds and the canopies of the trees, and between garden architecture and the sky, because they draw the eye upward. They always add a lot of depth and movement to a garden. They're also interesting and fun in themselves, whether you have a design problem to solve or not.

"Skinny plants make everything around them that's bushier look better," Karam says. "They give a landscape that 'pow' factor -- if a garden just has all mound-y shrubs, it will not look nearly as cool as it would with something tall and narrow."

Sources

-- Looking for skinny plants? Check out possibilities at Monrovia's website, monrovia.com, where you can learn more about specific varieties and find a retailer in your area.

-- H. Paul Davis, landscape architect, hpauldavis.com.

Fireflies are lovely -- but you can't count on them to do all the work of lighting a garden party. For that, you need technical resources: There are many magical ways to light up the night.

"Lighting is one of the most important design tools we have, and it is accessible to everyone," says Tyler Wisler, an interior designer and partner with Tiki Brand torches. Indoors or out, Wisler says, "when you control the lighting, you control the room."

This spring, Wisler worked with Tiki Brand to light outdoor party spaces with traditional and modern garden torches and tabletop fire pieces of all kinds. Flickering flames have instant appeal, he says. "As soon as you light a fire, people gravitate toward it," he says. "It's almost primal. You feel cozy; you feel safe. It's a gathering spot."

Lighting up the garden lets you express your style in new ways and makes even a casual gathering a special occasion, Wisler says. You can use outdoor lights to direct your guests along a path, to add some twinkle to a tabletop, or to call attention to a destination in the garden. Great outdoor lighting, by its contrast with the surrounding darkness, creates a sense of privacy and enclosure.

For big events, you may want to turn to professional lighting designers, but you don't have to hire an expert. You can do it yourself and have fun, says Noah Hammer, owner of Full Circle Lighting in Atlanta. The goal, he says, is to create a warm glow, illuminating some areas more than others. "Mystery is very important," Hammer says. Don't spoil it with too much light, and, above all, he says, "do not shine stuff in people's eyes."

Hammer's background is in theater design, and before opening his own business, he worked with Cirque du Soleil, the circus arts and performance company. In the entertainment business, he learned that "the absence of light is art," Hammer says. That's not just a principle of theater lighting -- it's true in your own backyard, he says. "The dark spots add to the mystery of the show."

Cafe-style lighting is especially popular right now, Hammer says. Strings of bare bulbs with the filaments showing are a classic cafe look, and they're widely available at party supply shops and big-box and novelty stores. Allow the strings of lights to drape slightly, Hammer suggests, for a graceful look, but hang them high enough to allow your guests to walk under them comfortably. "They cast a nice warm glow over people," he says. He uses a dimmer switch (available at big-box stores) to reduce the light to about 50 percent, to soften the mood. LED strip lights, in white or in colors, find their places under railings. Hammer also recommends up-lights (sometimes called projection lights) for your trees, but don't light the trunks, he says -- light up the foliage.

Special effects are a professional's stock in trade. Hammer's team can rig up lights that look like real fireflies in the distance, and they have light setups that simulate a lustrous moon-glow.

Wisler's outdoor lighting designs rely on layers of light from standard Tiki torches, candles and tabletop torches. The combination provides light at the center of a seating area, for example, as well as around the periphery, and at different levels. Mixing several kinds of torches is always more exciting, and less formal, than sticking with just one light source, he says. Try clustering three tabletop pieces -- a candle and two tabletop torches, for example, of different heights. "It gives you dynamic energy," Wisler says.

Wisler recommends setting up clusters of lights in several places around the garden. "My rule of thumb is: More is more," he says, but he doesn't necessarily have all the lighting options burning at once. "When you are reading in your bedroom, do you turn on all the lights? No," he says. "You want to have options of different levels of lighting. It gives you flexibility to set the tone."

Use garden lights as accessories, Wisler suggests. "They're meant to be fun -- so go ahead, experiment a little." If you think of yourself as a set designer, lighting a stage as you place candles, torches and a string of lights or two around your garden or patio, that's appropriate. Garden parties make for great summer theater.

SOURCES

-- Tyler Wisler is an interior designer and tastemaker in the New York area who works with brands to integrate their products into home and garden lifestyle designs. His design firm is Tyler Wisler Home, tylerwislerhome.com.

-- Full Circle Lighting and Productions in Atlanta is a theatrical and event-lighting company specializing in corporate meetings, trade shows, weddings, parties and other events: fullcirclelighting.com. To find a lighting designer in your area, search for "event lighting" and your city.

-- The Tiki torch was introduced in the 1950s; today, Tiki Brand has expanded to include many styles and designs of torches, tabletop fire pieces and candles, and a line of torch fuel, including clean-burning and bug-repellant fuels. They're available at garden shops, at big-box stores and through tikibrand.com.

-- Outdoor party lights of all kinds can be found at party shops, big-box stores and online. One mail-order source for electric party lights, including cafe lights, LED lighting, mini-lights, rope lights, novelty lights and accessories, is partylights.com.

SIDEBAR

Garden Lighting Tips From the Pros:

-- Light up the entrance to the garden, the seating areas and the tabletop, but vary the lighting. Some areas should be brighter than others.

-- Relatively strong lights, such as torches, are a good choice for pathways. Tabletop lighting can be more subdued.

-- Mix and match lighting types and styles. "Things come alive when you have a touch of this and a touch of that," says Tyler Wisler.

-- Don't overlight the party. Buy a dimmer for strings of lights, and turn the lights down for a cozy atmosphere.

-- If you have existing outdoor fixtures, consider replacing their bulbs with flicker lights.

-- Make sure all electric lighting used outdoors is rated for outdoor use.

-- Cables and electrical wires should not be dangling or exposed. Use gaffer's tape and zip ties to secure electrical lines.

-- If you're going to keep outdoor lights up for an extended time, you might want to consider commercial-grade lights, which are more durable than regular outdoor lighting. A 48-foot string of dimmable cafe lights with 24 bulbs (15 watts each) is about $110 from partylights.com.

Fresh, flavorful, fragrant herbs are the not-so-secret ingredients that make summer meals sensational, and they look just as pretty in a vase as they taste in a recipe. Growing your own is half the fun.

There are lots of ways to incorporate herbs into your summer planting scheme. You don't need a big garden to grow them, although, if you have the space, a long row of herbs will produce a prodigious harvest. In small gardens, herbs are easygoing companions for zinnias, marigolds, daylilies and other annual and perennial flowers in flower beds. They're also easy to grow among peppers, tomatoes, beans and greens in a vegetable garden. You can grow herbs in a window box, in a border around the patio, in pots and even in hanging baskets.

Abigail Cooke, greenhouse manager for a private club in the Washington, D.C., area, cultivates herbs of all kinds in large flower beds for the club's kitchen staff. The beds are designed to be as pretty as they are useful -- with edible flowers among the herbs and trellises for flowering vines along the garden's central path.

"We plan things out almost in a potager style," like a formal kitchen garden, Cooke says. The garden's simple four-square design makes the most of the colors and textures of the herbs and flowers, and allows room for exuberant summer growth. "There is zero soil showing during the growing season," she says. "It's just colors, textures and overwhelming lushness."

Oregano, chives, thyme and sage are among the chef's favorites, Cooke says. She also grows parsley, rosemary, mint, several kinds of basil and a few vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes. The club saves thousands of dollars every year by growing its own herbs and edible flowers, instead of buying them, Cooke says, but it's not just a way to control the budget. "The chefs are super-excited to have fresh herbs," she says. Club members also enjoy checking out the garden and appreciate that the herbs, vegetables and flowers they see in the beds also appear on the menu in the clubhouse.

Herbs are not demanding plants, especially if you start with transplants from a garden shop. They thrive in well-drained soil in sunny spots, and most are at their best in summer's heat. When you cut a generous bunch of thyme, break off a long wand of rosemary or snip a handful of parsley, you're encouraging your plants to grow vigorously. Herbs are surprisingly drought tolerant, and they're generally not susceptible to pests or diseases. They simply do not need pampering. Fertilizer is not needed in an herb garden: Herbs grow stronger and have more pronounced flavor and fragrance without it.

An herb garden doesn't have to be large to be beautiful or productive. Eleanor Brown, a gardener in Newport News, Virginia, planted an herb garden just outside her kitchen door so she can pick basil, rosemary and parsley when she's cooking. "I love the look of the garden and all the colors, but I love to cook, and that is the real reason why I have an herb garden," she says. All summer long, she has a bounty of herbs, and plenty to share.

Brown grows herbs with lots of color. She likes green-and-gold variegated sage, purple basil and pineapple mint, which has quilted green leaves, splashed with white. She also grows chocolate mint, thyme and oregano plants. The flowers are pretty, and they attract pollinators to her garden.

Brown also cuts herbs for flower arrangements. A few long sprigs of mint, basil or rosemary are a perfect complement to zinnias, cosmos, celosia and other summer blooms that pop with color but do not have a scent. Some herb gardeners grow a special basil variety, Mrs. Burns, for bouquets because of its branching habit, prolific production, and tangy lemon fragrance. The feathery foliage and handsome flowers of dill and fennel also add texture and fragrance to bouquets.

Brown has tucked creeping orange thyme in at the edges of her herb garden and along paths. She plants purple okra among her herbs for color and height, and grows several herbs in pots, including mint and basil, just because she likes the way they look. Mint, thyme and other herbs are not only on the menu, she uses them to garnish platters, and they find their way into summertime cocktails. "That's the way it should be," Brown says. "There's no substitute for fresh herbs."