Evergreen delights that add interest to small spaces

Plenty of objects can simulate holiday trees, including preserved — or nonliving — possibilities: conical feather trees, painted branches, the faux in many shapes.

But seasonal decorating, in my book, must include a live evergreen, a treat for the fingertips and nose when touched.

Even if your space is limited, fragrant live plants can be tucked into corners or placed on tabletops.

Rambling through full-service nurseries, you'll discover that they've anticipated your tabletop display. This year they offer many possibilities: small living spruces, firs and cedars, with foliage tones of teal, silver, gold and green.

Or how about herbs? For the kitchen, you'll find trimmed and shaped Tuscan blue rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), the essence of fragrance and culinary cheer. Placed in a sunny window, this one can become an interior plant, and it also makes a great hostess gift. Also look for sweet bay trees (Laurus nobilis) in tiny pots.

Most of these top out at 18 inches or shorter and cost $20 or less.

Outdoor plants

Plants that can become outdoor personalities after the season are most often dwarf forms of larger conifers.

You'll find these with trees and shrubs in the outdoor sections of nurseries. Check the tags to determine ultimate size, which can range from 2 feet to 25 feet depending on the cultivar.

All of these thrive in containers as deck or patio plants.

Most familiar is the Dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca albertiana 'Conica'), a densely foliaged dark-green cone.

More intriguing this year are many different forms of cedars: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, a normal-size yard tree, has dozens of miniature cousins with great colors and shapes.

Look for the cultivars 'Treasure Island,' with soft gold needles, or 'Wissels Saquaro,' featuring a narrow profile.

And since décor trends are leaning toward blue and silver this year, look for the cultivar 'Blue Glow,' a distinct misty teal. 'Ellwoods Pygmy' looks like a theme tree for a toy train display, and 'Blue Gem' resembles bonsai.

For an Italian cypress, one that won't grow to overtop your villa, try Cupressus sempervirens 'Tiny Tower.'

And the spruce Picea glauca 'Jean's Dilly' grows only two to four inches a year.

Indoor plants

Here's a tropical one, an oddity often chosen for Christmas trees in Hawaii: the Norfolk Island pine (Arucaria heterophylla). You'll find it in the warmer, protected section of your nursery along with poinsettias.

It fools the fingertip and eye, being quite like other conifers, with needles and an elegant tree shape, holding lots of space between the branches to drape dangles.

Norfolk Island pines live on and on in pots as houseplants, requiring only sun and interior home temperatures. They are great choices if you have no accessible garden space for outdoor planting but want a small tree to become a seasonal tradition.

Plant care tips

Remove fancy wrappings and foils or poke holes in the bottom. The wrappings can hold water and can cause root damage to live plants.

Move the hardy outdoor types into cool air after the holidays. Most of these cold-loving conifers will survive nicely for 10 days to two weeks indoors, then gradually should be moved outdoors. A protected patio, balcony or deck will shelter them for the rest of winter.

You may find yourself, as I do, collecting small holiday trees for year-round containers.

Garden expert Mary Robson is a retired area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension. Her e-mail is marysophia@olympus.net.