Thanks! I had included the gardenia because I saw a variety at the nursery (Frost Hardy) that was described as preferring a container to the ground due to potting soil's porosity, and because some research indicated that they have shallow roots. I will definitely take a look at the Pines too!

Unfortunately one thing you are soon going to see with the pines is the cost of buying multiples of them will be over the roof - so to speak. These days $40 each is cheap for truly dwarf or miniature conifers in anything bigger than tiny pots, with those in larger, say 3 gallon or more containers often being as much as $120. If you actually only need a comparatively small number of them, or cost is not a deterrent, then no problem. Otherwise you may find you have to shell out more than you want to - and may also have to visit multiple outlets in the area to get the desired number of plants assembled.

Or maybe arrange for a special order, if that is possible now.

Japanese holly comes to mind but maybe you want something less usual. And when in flower it does buzz with bees, which would be flying across your path when coming and going.

The gardenia, Tobira, and in particular the citrus can all be expected to have hardiness problems at some point - with that point perhaps being the next winter, as normal levels of cold were being forecast for it earlier this year.

As far as temperatures go, I have a plan for the Yuzu (hardy to about 10-20F). Blankets + incandescent Christmas lights! If it dies then I'll be sad, but it's a fun project and it reminds my spouse and I of Japan.

The garden center steered me away from Gardenia. The new list is:

Abelia x Grandiflora

Belle Etoile Mock Orange

Dwarf Hawthorn

Dwarf Olive Shrub - unlikely due to being hardy to only about 10-15F but allegedly very wind tolerant.

Escallonia

Japanese Mock Orange (Pittosporum Tobira)

Barberry

The nursery said that pines and cedars would dry out in prolonged wind exposure, so I looked for plants that had waxy leaves and a dwarf habit.

The broad-leaf evergreens on your list aren't going to be more wind tolerant than hardy conifers like pines and arborvitaes, which have needles and scales instead of conventional leaves in the first place as an adaptation to severe weather. A general pattern in the major horticultural crop production area of the Willamette Valley is (except for hardy hybrid rhododendrons) to grow broad-leaf evergreens in containers, overwinter them under plastic, and to grow deciduous and coniferous stock in the ground, in open fields, because most of those can take it (there are even exceptions in both of these last two groups that get winter protection, either because they are inherently less hardy or because they are being grown in pots instead of as field stock).

Note that stated hardiness for plants usually refers to those examples growing in the ground, and not in containers. Studies of hardiness in containers has produced a pattern of potted stock tending to be roughly 20 degrees F. less hardy on the ground than in it. So theoretically a glossy abelia for instance that dies to the ground at 0 degrees F. growing in the ground might do likewise at 20 degrees F. in a pot.

Today I saw some named cultivar dwarf Mugo pines maybe about a foot or so across that were $145 each. Speaking for myself at least clonal woody plants in particular are starting to be priced out of reach, in many instances. Of course, it's all relative - when the same item was 1/3 or 1/2 that much I probably would have thought it too much to spend at that time also.

Mock orange will want to get very big and keeping it pruned you will lose a lot of the flowering and delicious fragrance. I wonder how tall oregon grape would do?

ETA: my comment above applies if you are talking about Philadelphus mock orange. If you are referring to choisya, which is sometimes called mock orange, I would say this would be a good choice. Choisya does well for me and takes nicely to pruning. Plus it has the bonus of being evergreen unlike Philadelphus.

Preceding post states that they are looking at a Philadelphus - as well as Pittosporum tobira.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I am currently trying Escallonia 'Terri', a dwarf cultivar with a somewhat dense habit. One of them was very pot-bound but they seem to be enjoying the 5-1-1 mix advocated here on GW and they are putting out new growth. Come winter it will be interesting to see how they do. I'll try to remember to report back!

Not a particularly hardy item, if you do see damage resulting from a sharp winter sometime this is one of those kinds that will be affected.

I've lost Escallonia in the ground in Portland, interesting to see if they are winter hardy in a pot on a rooftop in Seattle....