Our garden

Bonsai, garden trees, houseplants and the odd volunteer seedling.

This is our little online catalogue of everything growing in our garden, made for friends and family. It's a work in progress, and there's always something new going in.

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Trees & shrubs
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Norway spruce ‘Little Santa’
Little Santa after the deadwood tidy-up, returned to the same pot, 2 Oct 2026

Norway spruce ‘Little Santa’

Picea abies 'Dougart12' (Little Santa)

A young Norway spruce labelled Little Santa, with a dead leader and fine green shoots on both the trunk and living branches. Some deadwood has been retained as a possible feature for future bonsai styling.

Common name
Norway spruce ‘Little Santa’
Section
Trees & shrubs
Spot
Patio (for now)
Soil
Nursery compost
Options
Bonsai

Bonsai

Bonsai: retained deadwood could provide character alongside the living shoots.

From
A local nursery (old stock), Oct 2026
Age
About 5 years (best guess)
Next repot
Review roots in spring; no repot needed now.
Edible
🤔 Sort of: the fresh spring tips make a citrusy tea.
Hardy
✅ Fully
Garden-centre price
about £12
Did you know?

Norway spruce is the traditional British Christmas tree.

RHS guide

Care & updates

Next root check
Mar 2027
  1. Deadwood tidy-up

    Removed deadwood, retaining a few pieces as possible features for future bonsai styling. Plenty of fine green shoots are present on both the trunk and living branches. Tidied and returned to the same pot for overwintering. Not yet pot-bound; no repot was carried out.

  2. Observation

    Nursery-stock check: scratch-tested alive.

Root records (2)
  • Root ballView larger, with details
    Checked; same pot retained

    Rootball before work around the outside. Tidied and returned to the same pot for overwintering. Not yet pot-bound; no repot was carried out.

  • Root ballView larger, with details
    Checked; same pot retained

    Rootball after loosening the outer roots. Tidied and returned to the same pot for overwintering. Not yet pot-bound; no repot was carried out.

All root records →

🎮
Mega Drive moment Winter Olympics: Lillehammer '94 (Mega Drive)

Norway, snow and a great many spruces.

Look it up →