Small Trees Growing In Popularity

(CBS)  Small Christmas trees can bring big smiles this season.

Several years ago, you would never have seen so many options for little trees. But, House & Garden magazine garden editor Stephan Orr tells The Saturday Early Show, demand for tiny trees is intensifying, because people now decorate for Christmas all over the home.

The trees come in a wide variety of styles: from formal trees for the living and dining rooms to quirky ones for kids' bedrooms or playrooms. You can also choose to make your own tabletop tree.

Orr gave the lowdown on some of the more popular small trees:

NATURAL TREES

Red Berry Bonsai: This is a bonsai plant that is shaped to look like a tree. It's a great choice for a small apartment or modern home and would be a perfect centerpiece on the dining room table.

Rosemary Tree: This is a fragrant option for the dining room or kitchen. It looks good plain, but can also be attractive decorated with small ornaments.

Both the rosemary and the bonsai can be kept all year long and used again next year.

BARE BRANCH TREES

In keeping with a natural theme, bare branches make an architecturally beautiful tree. Pull branches from your garden, or head to a flower shop. Look for any branches that are contorted or twisted -- anything with angles -- so you have plenty of places to hang ornaments. Contorted mulberry, curly willow, beech or oak branches are also good options. You could arrange the branches in a tall vase. Hang ornaments from the braches; finish the vase with a simple bow, and you have a festive arrangement that can even substitute for a real Christmas tree in a small space.

CANDY TREE

Sweets and Christmas go hand-in-hand, so why not make a candy tree? Let your creativity run wild - this could be a fun family project. You could attach fruit-shaped candy to a Styrofoam cone to make a small topiary. Glue the candy onto the foam or, if you want a fully edible tree, attach with frosting or fondant. You can find fondant at pastry supply stores. If you go this route, choose candy that's not too heavy, so the fondant will hold it securely.


TINSEL TREE

This silvery tinsel tree is hung with wooden fruits and vegetables. Speaking of kids, they love trees designed just for them, placed in a playroom or on their table at Christmas dinner. You could decorate children's trees with toys that the kids can remove and play with.


METALLIC TREES

They're back! Orr says, "What once was tacky is now fashionable in a tongue-in-cheek way." Because these trees catch the light, they don't even need to be lit with strings of bulbs.

RETRO TREE

This is another blast from the past. A mint green and white tree could be decorated with ornaments that look like they came from the 1950s, which is the last time there was a surge in the popularity of tabletop trees.

ORNAMENT TREES

Here's yet another reemerging trend in trees. Little trees function like decorative ornament stands and enable you to display prized ornaments that might get lost on a larger tree.

SOURCES:

calyxandcorolla.com
Red Berry Bonsai, $59
Rosemary tree, $59

crateandbarrel.com
Paiette trees, $40
Sprig Ornamanet tree, $45
Red/Green ornaments, $20 for 8

holdeverything.com
Wool Felt rnaments, $24 for 4

westelm.com
Small Holiday tree, $29
Mirrored Garland, $12
Beaded Snowflake ornaments, $12 for 4
Beaded Garland, $16

Potterybarn.com
Ornament tree, $55

christopherradko.com
Star Base tree, $65
Shiny-bright mini-reflectors and forms, $30
Shiny-bright petite ripples and assorted forms, $37

oompa.com
Wooden fruit, $2 - $7

abccarpet.com
Tinsel tree, $70