The Most Useful Trees and Shrubs with which to form Topiary
Bay Beech Box Hawthorn Holly Hornbeam Juniper Leyland Cypress Lonicera Privet Thuja Yew
Bay (Laurus Nobilis):This sun-loving tree is sometimes called Sweet Bay and is well known in the kitchen where the leaves have many uses in cooking. It was also the plant that formed the laurel wreaths which were hung around the necks of champions in the ancient world and gives rise to our modern term laureate as in Poet Laureate. Bay Trees are often grown as standards and kept in pots but they can also be given a variety of shapes. A traditional feature is to form spiral stems by twisting the trunk around a pole as the plant grows. This is a lengthy process and a ready grown tree in a garden centre will require a lengthy cheque to be written to make a purchase.
Beech (Fagus Sylvatica): Beech is principally used for hedging where it can provide a dense deciduous mass. Don't forget that Beech trees in the natural habitat can grow to fifty feet or more so decide on the height of your hedge early on and cut the tops off just below the height you eventually require! In winter the leaves stay on the branches but turn a romantic rusty gold colour. New season's growth pushes them off and bright green leaves appear, but they are amongst the last trees in the garden to decide that spring has arrived! Beech hedges can have very successful arches grown into them in time. If your soil is positively unforgiving or you live in a city's polluted air then Hornbeam is a suitable alternative. Both, however, take a few years to establish before anything like recognisable hedge growth appears so don't panic. Once mature you should only need to clip once in late summer. This is the recommended time in order to keep the majority of those brown leaves in winter but you can clip earlier or more than once if you feel the hedge is running away with you.
Box (Buxus Sepervirens): This is the king of small(ish) topiary. There are many varieties of Box including variegated forms. The standard variety is the most hardy. There is also a dwarf variety (Buxus Sempervirens Suffruticosa) which will happily live at six inches high and is useful for box edging of beds. Be warned, however, that some suppliers have stopped growing this form due to its susceptibility to the disease Box Blight (Cylindrocladium). You can use the larger ordinary variety for this purpose (Its cheaper!) but be prepared to clip more often as I have seen such bushes up to fifteen feet high! Balls, spirals and all geometric shapes look wonderful in Box but you can have Chickens, Ducks, Teddy Bears and Mickey Mouse if you want to, I won't complain. Clip as often as you feel the urge throughout the late spring and summer but don't on any account clip when there is a likelihood of a frost otherwise the cold will get into the exposed ends and Mickey or the Chicken will surely be a gonna. Box puts on a spurt in spring and has lovely fresh looking leaves. It also likes a good feed from time to time. Liquid seaweed fertiliser is ideal. When the sun comes out you'll be able to smell Box from half a mile away. If you're me then that's exciting, if you are Queen Anne you would have all your Box trees uprooted because of the smell. Who is she anyway, isn't Queen Anne dead?
Hawthorn (Cratageus Monogyna): In the good old days when farmers had hedges around fields this was more than likely the tree. You can cut it with a boathook or drive a fire engine through it it is that hardy, once mature. A word of warning if you're tough with it it will be tough with you. Wear some gloves or those spikes will get you. Incidentally this tree, which can grow quite majestically tall as a single specimen is sometimes known as the May Bush. Its deciduous and new leaves will appear in April (not May!) and gave rise to the expression "N'er Cast a Clout till May is Out" meaning that this tree knows when its getting warm so don't trust the weather forecasters.
Holly (Ilex Aquifolium): If you think Yew is a slow grower then there's Holly! Those perfect dense holly hedges you've seen with the umbrella tops have been around longer than you and me so plant one for your children. Once mature you can cut Holly at any time of the year even when its snowing, as I often do to provide Christmas decorations for the house. Spring is the best time to cut back hard if you want to rejuvenate an ailing hedge. There's also lots of different varieties available now which look particularly good as specimens.
Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus): Another deciduous tree used in hedging and a wonderful alternative to Beech. See Beech for more details.
Juniper (Juniperus): One of a wide variety of bushy conifers. Good if you like a bluish tinge to your hedge. The common form Juniperus Communis will grow up to ten feet tall although you can cut them as specimens. Remember with conifers that you will only get new sproutings from recent growth. If you lop of a branch it won't grow back. For this kind of severe work Yew is your only answer.
Leyland Cypress (Cupressocyparis Leylandii): Why this is in a list of recommendations I don't know. Most Leylandii hedges should be burnt. Where there is an item about offending hedges and warring neighbours on the local news this will be the culprit. Do you really want a thirty foot hedge? Yes it will grow quick but it won't stop. It also has the annoying habit of losing its bottom branches unless clipped and looked after by a professional so you get the odd sight of a fifteen foot hedge with a six foot gap at the bottom through which the world and his wife can drive their motor cars let alone see. The best advice for leylandii is to use it to form a quick growing wind barrier whilst other trees, etc are maturing and then rip it out after eight to ten years. Go on be brutal! Besides when its fifty feet high there's no stable branches to rest a ladder on and I'm not going to come round and take you to the hospital.
Lonicera (Lonicera Nitida): Useful for small specimens or hedges up to four feet in height. A word of warning though cats love the smell and will often use smaller plants as bath tubs. It is fairly quick growing though and can be cut (even with scissors) into almost any shape you want. Cut only during the growing season and be warned that a particularly bad winter could kill off your pride and joy but they really are fairly hardy. There's also lots of different varieties now so if you want yellow topiary you can have yellow topiary.
Privet (Ligustrum Aquifolium): Privet forms the traditional garden hedge in suburban Britain but it is a greedy feeder and almost nothing will grow within two miles of it. That said if looked after and clipped properly (and frequently!) during the summer you can achieve good results. I have seen some lovely single specimens too in all shapes and sizes and the Italians are masters at producing wacky shapes from some of the smaller leaved varieties. (Not to mention those fine fellows at Disney Land).
Thuja (Cupressus Plicata): Another conifer. Sometimes known as the Western Red Cedar is hardy and stands clipping better than leylandii. It is tolerant of wind and if clipped properly can look (almost) like Yew.
Yew Taxus Baccata): The king of large Topiary. Evergreen hedges ten feet high and five feet thick? No problem. Balls on top, windows cut through? You betcha. Specimens up to thirty high. Yep. Yew is slowish growing so it will take ten years to get a mature hedge of up to seven feet high but its well worth the wait. Clip little and often during the growing season especially at the beginning. This will establish a firm outline down to the ground. Make sure you get a batter on a hedge i.e. gently slope inwards as you move upwards otherwise snow can cause damage in later years or light cannot penetrate your lower regions. Yew is the only plant worth mentioning that you can lop parts off right up to the trunk and it will regrow. Hence the amount of shapes you can make is only limited by your imagination. Oh yes, and you can use electric hedge-trimmers if you want to!