There is a saying that
power is nothing without control and mankind has always been
attempting to control nature to produce food or to create a
statement of power. To Louis XIV of France in the 17th
Century, the grandest way of showing off his wealth and power over
his subjects was to extend this control to the gardens surrounding
the Châteaux of Versailles.
It’s not just the strong
geometrical lines of the layout of this landscape which impress
the eye but also the sharply architectural lines of the main
plants in the form of topiary.
Topiary is
essentially the art of controlling a plant’s growth to produce
bold shapes which are then trimmed to encourage a dense form. The
most typical of topiary shapes are of course balls and cones
although the more adventurous can venture to spirals and even
animals. It seems the only limit to what can be represented in
topiary is your imagination.
So what
makes a good plant for topiary? The well-proven stars are Box and Yew
which will happily tolerate hard pruning. Holly is a tolerant performer,
followed by the shrubby Honeysuckles (don’t get confused with the
climbing species), which can all be trimmed once a year in late summer.
Being evergreen, these candidates for cutting will form wonderful shapes
during the winter at the time of year when the garden is most in need of
bold lines.
The key
thing to remember about topiary is that the shape needs space to be
appreciated. It’s no good hiding topiary in a mass of other planting.
The topiary forms a shape but the space around it is just as important.
You can
use sharp shears to trim topiary or a hedge trimmer if you prefer. Just
be careful of the lead if its electric as concentrating on the shape can
sometimes take the eye off the cable!
Trimming
a piece of topiary is not only therapeutic but can be an entirely
personal thing as you create a piece of living sculpture. With a little
patience and a sprinkle of imagination, you too can show off your green
status symbol, a sign of your careful control over nature like Kings and
Queens before you.
