A multitasking feature, Topiary is ideal for creating a strong focal point in your garden planting scheme, for introducing low shapes into edge paths and adding definition to containers.
If you love the look of cut greens, choose sucker bay trees, clever box toppers, and conifers as topiary ideas to add strong shapes that help define your outdoor space.
Topiary ideas are a low maintenance form of gardening that looks good all year round, so it’s a good option to include them as part of your garden ideas.
Topiary – Expert Ideas and Tips
Topiary’s rules are simple: select the height and shape you want, and get a shot.
Choose shrubs with small leaves and thick, dense leaves such as henna. The more you cut, the smaller the leaves will be, making it a good choice for setting a sharp outline.
1. Add topiary in different shapes
(Photo credit: Charlotte Row Garden Design)
Cube shapes are one of the easiest shapes to make and are good for dividing different planting areas in the garden. Small pebble-shaped topiary is also popular on edge paths.
In this garden design by Charlotte Rowe, spot globes contrast with a hedge box.
Topiary suits a repetitive design and works really well if you keep things symmetrical on both sides of the garden, which can create the illusion that the space is larger than it is.
There are many options for shapes and styles – Have some fun creating shapes that fit the style of your backyard, whether it’s formal or casual and casual. Figures can come to the fore in a winter garden stuck in hollow frost.
Topiary works on all levels, from country estates to small city parks. Their ability to transform a space, often simply by having one, says designer Kate Gould, is highlighted in small gardens, where its foliage adds interest and shade during the day and creates drama at night, especially when paired with lighting.
Kate adds, “Yews, cypresses, and elexes are tough plants that can grow into large trees, but are equally happy in hedges or shapes that can be both traditional and contemporary.”
2. Enhancing doorways with topiary in containers
(Image credit: Lee Clapp)
Cleverly cut evergreens are a great choice for enhancing entryways such as gates, entryways, and porches.
In the winter, topiary adds much-needed drama, punctuating a space when the rest of the garden doesn’t have much to offer.
Containers that feature cut-out topiary designs are also a good choice to add interest to a small space. Another advantage is that you can swap it out to keep things fresh. It can be paired with some of the best winter plants for pots and borders for added color.
Topiary in a small space planter can do a lot more than a group of less impressive specimens. If you’re under time pressure, they add effect without the hours of upkeep.
3. Include topiary among the natural plantings for a modern look
(Image credit: McWilliam Studio)
Traditionally, topiary was used in classical formal gardens in the form of cones, topiary balls, and standards.
“But for a more modern look that contrasts sculptural forms with holistic planting, try including topiary as a punctuation within a tapestry of natural herbaceous perennials,” suggests Jeff Stephenson, head of horticulture at Bowles & Wyer.
For example, “You can incorporate yew domes of different sizes throughout a rug of hakonechloa,” adds Jeff.
“The defined, sharply cabin forms provide year-round architectural interest that we contrast with perennials and seasonal grasses,” explains award-winning garden designer and landscape architect Gavin McWilliam of McWilliam Studio.
4. Create a structure with topiary
(Image credit: Bowles & Wyer)
Often referred to as the bones of the garden, an evergreen structure can be the starting point for creating a garden design once the initial planning has been determined.
“We regularly include topiary in our designs to provide structure and rhythm in our plantings,” says Gavin McWilliam. When combined with evergreen trees for gardens, topiary can create a strong backbone for the garden.
‘The majority of topiary forms we work with are evergreen, pittosporum and Prunus Lusitanica. However, we also like to work with beech and hornbeam when it’s relevant to the context,” Gavin adds.
5. Use a topiary to add winter interest
(Image credit: Anaik Gitney)
Despite the abundance of back garden plantings, the truth is that for several months of the year, the garden relies on evergreens for structure and form.
“Topiary really comes into its own in the quieter months of late winter and early spring when the herbaceous plantings are cut down, and new spring shoots haven’t appeared yet,” says Gavin McWilliam.
When designing a garden, it’s important to consider seasonal greenery, and topiary is a great option as one of your winter garden ideas. In addition to formally cut hedges and topiary balls or other shapes, consider creating more informal “lines” of plants with sarcococcus, osmanthus, or a soft pillow cloud of Lonicera Billiata Maigron, which is excellent for ground cover, explains garden designer Lee Bestall.
Timeless classics like Taxus and buxus, which respond well to regular cut, provide structure and mass, as well as being perfect paired with warm white fairy lights.
6. Create a knot garden with topiary
(Photo credit: Richard Miers Garden Design)
“Using evergreens is an elegant, timeless way to provide focal points and frame major views around the garden,” says garden designer Richard Myers.
I use evergreen plants and hedges as the backbone of my designs. It can provide the framework on which other elements of the garden are subsequently applied.
In this garden design, Richard Box and lavender are used to create a knotted garden that surrounds the entrance to the house and reflects its symmetry. The surface enhances the entryway, creates a repetitive design, and makes the space appear larger.
7. Introducing the topiary cloud top trimmer
(Photo credit: Charlotte Rowe Garden Design)
‘Cloud pruning’ is where continuous mounds of shrubs are pruned into softly domed topiary balls resembling undulating clouds. It is interspersed with other plants such as low weeds, ground cover and even small perennials.
“We use ‘cloud pruning’ in many of our gardens, both small and large,” says designer Charlotte Rowe.
“This style of planting provides structure while still allowing for seasonal interest and color,” she adds.
In addition to the smaller leafy plants typically used in traditional large-leaved plants, including copper beech, Tobira Pitosporum Nanome and Prunus Lusitanica Can also be used.
“Copper beech is particularly attractive because the leaves are a wonderful burgundy in winter,” Charlotte explains.
8. Add height with cut samples
(Image credit: Annaick Guitteny Future)
Evergreen trees like the ones above can be neatly clipped into “sucker” shapes to create eye-catching elevation, screening and garden borders—or planted to create a division between one area in your backyard and another.
9. Breaking the grass with topiary
(Image source: Getty Images)
Topiary doesn’t need to be in a flower bed or a path liner—it can be used to make a large area of lawn more interesting. Formal gardens of historic mansions, such as Hampton Court in Henry VIII, often feature large terrain spread across lawns, creating luxury and structure. Of course, at home, you can create the same effect on a much smaller scale.
10. Frame a display with a topiary
(Image credit: Future)
Using topiary to frame the presentation can be very successful. Low top balls can be very successful in small spaces, but in larger gardens, tall, conical balls can create a real sense of occasion.
What does the term topiary mean?
The term topiary means when trees or shrubs are cut down, pruned and trained into ornamental forms.
There are many shapes, from simple balls and hills to more elaborate squares, swirls and designs.
What plants are suitable for topiary?
Suitable plants for topiary are generally evergreen or semi-evergreen shrubs with smaller leaves. This will create a cleaner, tighter appearance, keeping it looking good all year round.
“These plants must be severely pruned early in their life to produce a versatile framework for sculpting,” explains Jeff Stephenson.
Some good examples of plants that should be used in tipi and that Jeff recommends to use include:
- Buxus
- euonymus japonicus “Small”
- Euonymus japonicus “Jane Hughes”
- Euonymus japonicus “Green Spire”
- Alex Crenata
- Pittosporum tenuifolium
- Taxus
How do you make topiary?
To create a topiary form, “Create a clear picture in your mind of the shape you are going to create, see yourself as a sculptor, and then gradually mold it into a shape,” explains Jeff Stephenson, head or department of horticulture at Bowles & Wyer.
“Adopting the practice of ‘measure twice, cut once,’” he adds, “when it comes to topiary: see, cut once, see again.”
Timing is crucial, too. Allow new seasonal growth to stretch, harden, and darken while thickening the skin on the leaves. It’s a healthier approach to planting, rather than eliminating every shot as it appears. Jeff says.
The more you invest in your tools, the more quality you will get. But it is also important to consider ergonomics and comfort.
If the tool feels comfortable for you, that will show in the quality of your work. Short-handled shears are useful for close work, while long-handled shears give you access to larger plants. Keeping your tools clean, sharp, and gliding is also crucial. Sap will weaken your blades over time, so Jeff recommends wiping them down regularly with either a disinfectant or cleaner.