I don’t know about you, but when I was a child the one thing I could always count on finding on Christmas morning was an orange or tangerine in the toe of my Christmas stocking. I suppose this was a holdover from the days over a century ago when citrus fruits were considered exotic treasures during the cold depths of winter in these parts.

Now, with orange groves on both coasts and fast and efficient transcontinental shipping, oranges and other citrus fruits have lost most of their cachet as Christmas treats. In fact, when was the last time your kids or grandkids complained when they didn’t find that round bulge at the bottom of their stockings? Have they even noticed it missing?

If you’re still one of the holdouts who creeps in after the kids are sleeping with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads and drops that orange into each stocking, I salute you. I say, what’s wrong with holding onto a tradition that includes a dose of vitamins and healthy nutrition along side so much excess sugar and fat we wallow in during the holiday season?

If you lack a hothouse and would like to enjoy some of the charms of having your own orange tree, there are a couple of plants you can add to your landscaping that will mimic the look and scent of orange blossoms.

One of these is Mexican orange, or Choisya ternata. It actually belongs to the same family, Rutaceae, as real oranges and bears white blossoms with a citrusy fragrance. Native to the southern U.S and Mexico, it’s a compact evergreen shrub with shiny leaves and likes sun and partial shade. It can also take short periods of drought, which will surely come in handy if next summer is a repeat of this previous summer.

Topping out at about eight feet, it blooms from late spring through summer. If you cut off the blossoms right after blooming, you can sometimes get a sparse second round of blooms. Plus, critters seem to avoid it. This may be because of the strong smell you get when you prune it. A friend pointed out it smells to her like the bitter rind of oranges. Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it?

Another good stand-in for orange blossoms is the mockorange, or Philadelphus, which is actually a member of the hydrangea family and native to North and Central America, Asia and Southeastern Europe. The Philadelphus genus contains many small shrubs and trees that may reach eight feet, but unlike Mexican orange most are deciduous, though they share with Mexican orange its white, often citrus scented flowers.

There are many hybrid Philadelphus on the market with single, semi-single and even double flowers. Their scent can vary from variety to variety, so if you want a specific fragrance, pick one out while it’s in bloom, which is mid-spring through early summer. And for a better blooming season, plant it in full sun.

Fun fact: a native mock orange, Philadelphus lewisii, was discovered by Meriweather Lewis and is the state flower of Idaho.

In my opinion, you’re never too old to hang up a Christmas stocking, but if your loved ones care more about plants than fruit, go ahead and put a Mexican orange or mockorange under the tree this year along with all the ribbons and bows.