Listen to The Art of Topiary in Afrikaans:
The Ancient Art Of Topiary
It’s like a garden sculpture, but without the expense or permanent commitment.
The art of topiary is truly ancient. Rumour has it that it was pioneered by a good friend of the roman emperor Augustus in the first century CE and has been thriving and developing since then.
It refers to the training, cutting and shaping of evergreen, thick-leaved plants into different ornamental shapes and figures.
Boxwoods, cypress, and yew can be used for shaping work, as can plants such as rosemary and honeysuckle.
It ranges from simple geometric shapes and hedges to intricately planned animal, human or even mythological figures.
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What makes topiary a wonderful garden addition is that it gives the structured and formal feeling of a stonework sculpture without the expense or permanence of such a sculpture. A hedge can give privacy without being a brick wall…
For this reason, topiary is an affordable and fun way to bring more formal elements into your garden.
How To Embrace Topiary Work In Your Own Garden?
Decide on your type of topiary.:
You can either train or prune a shrub into the desired shape or use a frame and let vines grow around the frame.
For a how-to guide, follow this link.
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Take Care Of Your Topiary
Topiaries are a commitment to living garden art and will need maintenance.
Watering in the mornings, and only at the base of the plant will prevent leaf fungus. Provide adequate water-soluble plant fertilizer during growing season. This will mean that your topiary grows faster, and will need more pruning…
For inspiration, why not have a look at some of the best topiary gardens in the world?
Great For Kids!
Topiary art is also a fun way to get children interested in gardening. Get them to start with a basic shape to hone their pruning skills and then move onto more exciting projects. For a video on how to make your own topiary dog, click here:
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Get Your Jingle On
Topiaries also make great festive garden additions, specifically if you adorn them with fairy lights. Zhoosh up your garden in time for the holiday season with a cone-shaped topiary and decorate it to suit your festive mood.
The possibilities of topiary art are endless. Let your mind wander and embrace your wildest (garden) fantasies!
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Read more in our latest Digital Magazines!
Johannesburg
Pretoria
Cape Town
Durban
Vaal Triangle
Bloemfontein
