Gardens, Pools & Spas
A Festive Garden
Create an indoor holiday garden to brighten the new year
BY
Lucyann Boston
PHOTOGRAPHY
Kurt Eckhard

Sustainable. Renewable. Organic. Green. They’re the buzz words; the hot topics in gardening throughout the country, says St. Louis horticulture expert Ellen Barredo, horticultural manager for Bowood Farms.

Her information is pertinent if it’s gardening season. But right now you’re thinking that this hot news in horticulture has as much relation to the current time of year and the upcoming holidays as a red velvet Santa suit does to a polka-dot bikini. But not so fast, Rudolph. 

The other gardening trend Barredo is talking about has to do with tiny trees and shrubs otherwise known as miniature,or dwarf, evergreens. Put the two together, and quicker than a herd of flying reindeer, you have sustainable, renewable, organic green holiday home decor. All it takes is a little imagination, which is what the season is all about.
It’s a given that dragging some containerized spruce and a holly or two into your dining room is not your idea of how to spend a festive evening decking the halls. But the miniature and dwarf species that Barredo is touting are so little and cute, you could easily stash two or three potted evergreens in an oversized handbag.

For the holidays, these miniatures and dwarfs can come inside, slip briefly into festive containers, and be worked into both traditional and contemporary displays. Lining the center of an elegant dining table, clustered in a cabinet or displayed on a buffet, they can be enhanced with everything from glitzy ornaments to furry pot covers. “You can look at some ideas, think about things you have and how you can use them, and then make the jump,” Barredo says.

Miniature and dwarf evergreens have come to the market in answer to the trend toward smaller yards, town homes, patios and loft living. Because of its city location, Bowood Farms carries an ample supply of these tiny treasures. Most began as naturally occurring mutations or “sports” of larger plants that were then cultivated by growers for their smaller size. Unlike bonsai, they don’t require continual snipping, clipping and root pruning to maintain their size. By definition, miniature cultivars grow less than one inch per year, while dwarf cultivars grow one to six inches per year.

“Gargantuan landscapes are out. Small patio plants and gardening details are in,” says Barredo, adding that she has been working with miniature and dwarf evergreens for eight to ten years. “How people use the product has been brought into the limelight. The ways people see them displayed will slowly build interest.”

With a variety of textures and ranging in color from vibrant gold to forest green to variegated, the plants are perfect for rock gardens, electric train gardens, patios and along narrow walkways. They are also handsome, 12-month-a-year enhancements to containers. Outdoors they have the same horticultural requirements as their larger siblings, although anything placed in a container needs more maintenance than a plant placed in the ground, Barredo cautions.

Just how long these primarily outdoor plants can survive inside and be used later out-of-doors depends upon where they are placed, according to Barredo. They’ll do much better in a cool garden room or on a porch than on a fireplace mantel. They need to be checked often for moisture and will benefit from misting, but should not be fertilized. Four weeks is the maximum time any of these tiny evergreens should remain indoors.

“What you don’t want with outdoor plants is for them to be indoors long enough to break dormancy,” she explains. With prices ranging from approximately $15 to $20, depending on the size of the plant and pot, the cost of a small, reusable evergreen is in the same range as a bouquet of fresh flowers.

Decorating with living evergreens that, if properly cared for, can be enjoyed outdoors for years, and fits in perfectly with the trend toward organics and outdoor living, Barredo feels. It’s a trend that has roots in various areas of society, she believes. “People in their 40s and 50s were the last generation to spend a lot of time out-of-doors, where they just went outside and played. They want to go back to that feel-good time; the comfortable feeling they had in the outdoors. What’s more, there is a group of up-and-coming young people who are into an organic and sustainable lifestyle.”

Find "Tips to Transition Your Garden" in the Nov/Dec 2006 issue of St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles.