Topiary is a longstanding art of creating sculptures out of live greenery. Keep the tradition alive by acquiring some skill and making it one of your own hobbies! It's fairly easy to perform and rewards handsomely those with an innate knack for gardening to begin with. Your labors will be rewarded many seasons over with enchanting plants, trees and shrubs.
Puttin On The Ritz!
Envision twin tall obelisks carved out of evergreens marking the entrance to your private estate,or...er, humble bungalow facing a quiet city street. Many centuries back topiary was part of classical design for the privileged set. Sculpted shrubbery and trees added to the outdoor garden environment in much the same way as fountains and sculpture added beauty. Italian gardens would show off a parade of sorts--all sorts of animal shapes like bears, sheep and peacocks all motionless but grand in scale. A more subdued application of topiary techniques included circular holes cut through a hedge to allow in sunlight, moonlight, or to frame a prized view of the landscape and architecture surrounding. Shrubs clipped according to straight horizontal and vertical lines were considered elegant.
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Your garden should grow according to plan--your plan. Don't allow a disparate display of greenery to grow unchecked. Impose some order to reflect a conscious pattern etched into your landscape or in container-grown plants. Then watch your green thumb show right through! Geometric shapes are heavily involved here. A quick geometry review features spheres, cubes, rounded pyramids, 3-sided pyramids and spirals; but, thankfully, no Pythagorean theorum to comprehend. Comprende??
Topiary comes in as a handy solution if your front or backyards are a little out of shape or some bushes have simply become too massive to fit in your size space. So get them in shape! Whatever shape you have in mind and are willing to tackle, Edward Scissorhands-style, in pursuit of perfection.
The tools you'll need are few: Garden Scissors and quality Pruning Shears. Garden scissors are more general-purpose and cut twine and fabric as well as floral stems and leaves. The shears are strong enough to cut hard branches of trees and shrubs. A larger version of pruning shears called Loppers require you to use both hands.
Wire forms are required if you are shaping your creation into a whimsical character. These are available at a topiary supplier or good garden supplier. A purpose-made wire frame is the structure that your plant will be trained on. It also serves as a frame for the art you will create,er....grow and clip. Understand that in topiary a frame will end up inside the leafy form, rather than framing around it like a frame holds a painting. Comprende?? It's best to get one of simple construction. I emphasize simple to lessen any frustration you may experience when training your plant to keep its shape. Now the good part....some common animal forms used successfully range from a hen, squirrel, dog or teddy bear to open hearts and open circles. All these can thrive in large or small sizes. Fun, huh?
Topiary Friendly Plants
Pick your plants wisely--as you pick your friends--because you want them to last year to year; even as you mold their growth! Low maintenance plants are a smart choice since their likelihood of survival is greater. And you Control Freaks out there get to take command of the shape of your garden as your plants morph into a predefined shape over time. If you take advantage of containers for smaller, more manageable topiary, go with a showy or tasteful pot since the branches won't be allowed to grow over the sides of it to hide it at all. A simple shape that harmonizes with your formal topiary is important too. Traditionally, the finished size of your lovely topiary creation measures about 1/3 of the height of the pot. The flexibility you have to turn the pot occasionally gives you the edge over topiary rooted in the ground--as shoots growing toward the sun threaten to compromise your vision.
You can raise cuttings from a parent plant. Box is a fine example that generally prospers easily after cutting. See the close-up photo above. Gardeners have trained shrubs and trees into a variety of symmetrical shapes and creative shapes with funky names.....this is where I get to tell you about my favorite one, deadheading. Do you dig it like I do?? It's the end result of a tree's close encounter with pruning shears! The gardener takes those pruning shears and removes unwanted branches on the lower part, leaving only the longest branches at the top or crown of the poor, unsuspecting sapling.
It can prove to be a time-consuming pasttime as some larger specimens are slow growing. So any lack in virtuoso talent can be counteracted with the virtue of patience, thank you very much! Engineered forms that are fabricated into whimsical live characters are the reward for sculpting evergreens that have many, many small leaves. For a simpler shape try a topiary cube. It requires precise trimming and dense foliage achieved by maintenance over a few seasons to flesh out the plant and hide inner stems.
A spiral is an elaborate variaton on the basic pyramid or cone shape. Start with a healthy plant with even growth all around. Trim with shears twice yearly. It needs one strong central stem. When it has reached the right height nip the topmost shoot to prevent further growth. A pom-pom can be cut from an established topiary cone. Make 2-3 tiers with the largest at the base. It's a showstopper! Ideally an evergreen with neat, small leaves is your subject here.
An animal shape such as a peacock can be created with a surprisingly effective, realistic look if you follow the normal growth pattern of that particular plant. If you must train elongated stems it will take much longer. A purpose made wire frame is a must, along with a well-grown plant with a number of good branches to form the fanned-out tail.
A standard is a neat ball of foliage, wonderful flowers or even tasty fruit topping a center stem. Happily, many plants are god candidates for a standard. It adds height to a group of potted plants. As matched pairs they beautify a front entry. Garnish them further with an underplanting of low-growing seasonal flowers. Take care to echo its simplicity of form to harmonize the design. Plants most agreeable to this type of treatment include floriferous shrubs such as Roses and Fuschia. Small-leaved evergreens with glossy foliage can be clipped to a precise ball for you Perfectionistas out there! Members of this exclusive list are: Bay, Myrtle and Viburnum with its scented flowers. Not to exclude Common Box with its fancy Latin name, B. sempervirens. It is easy to grow; reaching about 4 feet, and sports small, evergreen leaves.
Representing the west coast is the California Lilac. It is fairly hardy and ascends to 10 feet tall. Not to be outdone is the Leyland Cypress with needlelike, glossy greenery standing up to 10 feet. Let me introduce Laurel, known for its dense long and narrow leaves with little red fruit. It looks its best styled as a mop-head standard, since this charmer has droopy stems that dangle down. And meet Creeping Willow, S. repens. It appears rather dwarf-like with attractive slender branches. If it doesn't have a very straight,strong stem then you can graft a stem onto it. Rounding out this list is Rosemary. An aromatic evergreen shrub that I like to keep close. This little gem with pale blue blooms fits right on my windowsill. But would do just as well lining a well-used path where you can breath in its strong scent frequently....aahhhh!
You know I want to make mention of quick-growing climbers such as Ivies. They can be trained to cover wire forms. In a single season they can blanket a wire form in a mass of leaves. Of the different species and cultivars, one of the most vigorous is Erecta and Oro di Bogliasco. It even thrives under shade and roots readily whenever it touches soil.
An eye-catching display along a windowsill or making good use of a long rectangular planter might be a small-size, manicured topiary shape taking center stage, flanked by a supporting cast of 1or 2 identical plants on each side. All the while retaining the essential symmetry and balance that is so characteristic of topiary. Freshen up your scheme from time to time by changing out the flanking plants each season with those of another color.
Try this atop a pair of gateposts--false topiary globes. It begins with a globe frame made up of 2 circles of wire. Place young Ivy plants around the perimeter of the pot. Suitable Ivies would be Pedata, Conglomerata or Goldheart--which produces an attractive effect. As the stems on these small plants grow, twist them around the wire supports until they are entirely concealed. An alternative to a globe would be an open heart shape as it is most appropriate for small pots. Endearing I say!
An offshoot of classical topiary originates from the Orient--bonsai. These fussed-over trained trees and shrubs are kept forever miniature by ensuring their roots don't grow. A respected art form in Japan that's evident in these inimitable displays on tabletops and balconies in many traditional homes of their culture.
Lots of Luck....I'm rooting for you!!