SNIP IN STYLE IT'S A SNAP

Embrace simple pruning with a twist to create a topiary or two that will work wonders in your garden!

TRY THIS HEADTURNER!

The edging that keeps this garden bed in place curves in complement to the star attraction. The spiral is ambitious if you’re a beginner, and may take up to five years, but the visual impact is worth the effort!

Topiary may be the essence of a formal garden, but it’s also ideal for a sleek and modern look, or to add volume or height and a point of contrast in an informal, cottagestyle layout. You don’t need a grand estate with long borders lined by shrubs, trees clipped into ornamental pyramids or an excess of lawn broken up with random clusters of balls. Just one spectacular yet simple piece of topiary can become your garden’s statement piece, from which everything else flows.

FAVOURITE SHAPES

As with hedges, small-leafed evergreen plants are the best for topiary as their growth is dense, even and easily managed.

1 BALLS

These sit on the ground, like a green balloon. Try yew, box or juniper.

2 MOUNDS