How to Grow Topiary
These Are The Rules
(But remember, Rules are always meant to be broken!)
1. If you do not have any, first go out and buy some patience. (Topiary isn't fast).
1a. Don't forget that Yew trees can live to a thousand years old. You can't!
2. Select the Right Tree or Plant.
All plants can be cut or shaped but many can be killed in this way! Yew (Taxus Baccata) and the various forms of Box (Buxus Sempervirens) are the king and queen of topiary plants but there are many others.
3. When planting a hedge or specimen, smaller sized plants are best as they will acclimatise to local conditions quicker and often outgrow their bigger friends in the first year or so.
4. Do You Use a Frame to Guide a Shape or Not?
The purists would say not! Although you can buy such frames at garden outlets they are often in the shape of balls, etc and these shapes can be better achieved by eye. If you are planning a giant chess set, as at Brickwall House in West Sussex, you might be forgiven for using frames but then you would need to know a friendly local blacksmith anyway.
5. What Will Be the Finished Shape?
All topiarists have some plan in mind for particular specimens, however it is not uncommon for finished shapes to suggest themselves over the years by the tree or bush at hand. All plants, like all humans, grow differently!
6. When do You Clip?
In the early days of a specimen and if, like me, you are in need of therapy, this will be often. I always use May to September as a guide, although large established gardens like Levens Hall may not finish until December. Don't cut when there's the faintest hint of frost about. Frost can kill some bushes, especially Box, if it touches exposed ends and five years work may go up the spout! Remember the golden rule. "Little and Often". As the wise gardener said "You can cut more off later but you can't glue it back on". Most hedges or specimens when they are fully mature will only need an annual clip but don't forget this can be ten years down the line and you will probably have had more babies by then!
7. How do You Clip?
Using your favourite sharp implements and the "Little and Often" rule nothing could be more simple. I use scissors, secateurs and my favourite hand shears. You might have a rich relative who gives you a pair of "sheep shearer" topiary shears for Christmas. Don't complain as you might get on with them fine. I don't and you certainly don't need them to be a topiarist. Electric hedge trimmers can be used where necessary, surprisingly often on a hedge, but of course they are a bit unwieldy for fine or confined work. Cutting low Box hedges with one could also mean as much damage to you as to the hedge. You have been warned! Remember topiaries are three dimensional objects and you will need to look at your prize from every conceivable angle before, during and after you cut. I cannot emphasise enough that the standing and looking is as important as the doing (try explaining this to your partner!).
8. Geometry or Whimsy?
Well it's a matter of personal taste if you want an eight foot Mickey Mouse in your garden, or a steam locomotive, as someone in the Bristol Area has. Geometric shapes are, however, more traditional and if you give some thought to the overall plan or design of your garden then you will find well placed geometrical shapes are a positive joy in this unbalanced world.
9. To Feed or Not to Feed?
Probably, especially those in pots. A liquid sea weed fertiliser is best as nutrient can be taken up through the foliage as well as through the roots. Don't overdo it though. Remember the last time you drank eight pints? Mature specimens, such as at Levens, don't need individual attention but will benefit from any fertilising or mulching which is applied to surrounding flower beds.
Anthony Blagg