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Plants for Heavy Formal Effects: Topiary

Topiary work as a type of planting producing formal effects is the extreme of artificial methods. Trees and shrubs which are selected for this purpose are included almost without exception in the group known as "evergreens and broad-leaved evergreens," such as the yews, holly, and boxwoods. The hawthorn and the beech are the marked exceptions to this general rule, and are plants capable of severe pruning to produce artificial and fantastic shapes. These plants must lend themselves readily to frequent and to severe prunings in order to produce these forms. While topiary work as a matter of design is extremely limited in its application, there will often arise situations in which this extreme and violent treatment to produce the artificial forms in plants is justified. Topiary work has at times been very appropriately termed verdant sculpture. It is nothing more nor less than sculpture in plant forms so far as plants will lend themselves to details of such experiments. All of these plants which are especially adapted to topiary work are extremely slow growing and long lived. While many fantastic forms can be developed from such plants as the privet and hawthorn within a comparatively short period, the rare, more perfect, and permanent forms are usually the result of using the boxwood or yew. Most of these trees which are adapted to topiary work, especially the pyramidal form of topiary work, are upright growing, single-stemmed specimens. Plants which are adapted to these effects must also be of a compact texture with foliage evenly developed to a point close to the ground.