Topiary on the table Plants: Pruned and shaped, these small 'trees' lend an air of elegance to the holiday home.

This time of year, I look at the artfully decorated rooms in magazines, and I want them. Handmade garlands of bittersweet and Russian olive around doorways, kissing balls of boxwood and strung cranberries at the entryway, sprigs of holly in windows held by a dollop of beeswax. I want it all. But the realities of time preclude it. Fortunately, there's tabletop topiary.

Topiary, the art of pruning a plant into a geometric or whimsical ornamental shape, has been practiced by horticulturists and amateurs alike since Roman times. The world-famous jardin d'ornament at Chateau de Villandry in France is punctuated with precision-cut bushes that look a little like "Alice in Wonderland" characters. Closer to home, Ladew Gardens holds fine examples of topiary.

On a smaller, non-chateau scale, tabletop topiaries can add instant elegance to even the most humble home. Whether it's a tree-shaped variegated ivy spangled with tiny lights, a rosemary wreath on a windowsill, or a miniature rose topiary that enhances the table without obstructing the view of your scintillating dinner guests, topiaries make easy, long-lived, and beautiful decorative focal points. Additionally, you can satisfy creative urges by trimming them with anything from cranberries and kumquats stuck on toothpicks to shiny little balls, ribbons, dried or fresh flowers, or tiny origami cranes.

"We decorate a few [topiaries] here with ... gold and silver garlands," says Carrie Engel of Valley View Farms. "We have a whole area called 'Tiny Trims' in our Christmas shop."

Most herb farms and greenhouses sell tabletop topiaries. St. John's Herb Farm in Bowie sells topiaries of boxwood, myrtle and juniper, among others. Valley View Farms carries ivy, rosemary, lavender and myrtle topiaries.

"We've also seen a huge growth in containers with flowers that have the topiary look," says Engel. "We have two-tiered potted plants with poinsettias, ivy and cyclamen that give the same effect."

Topiary can be grown from many plants. For example, White Flower Farm sells a dark pink azalea ($68) topiary and a rosemary standard ($32). Shrubby herbs like rosemary, thyme, bay and hyssop make great topiaries. So do vining plants like ivy, honeysuckle, jasmine and wisteria. Smith & Hawken sells ready-made topiaries that range from an ivy-covered candelabra with three glass votives to tree-shapes, lyre-shapes and wreaths ($12-49).

Growing Your Own