A Practical Guide to Topiary

Topiary can be incorporated into a wealth of different garden styles, from traditional and country-house to Japanese and contemporary. This book will show you how versatile topiary can be, whether it simply outlines a garden boundary or emphasizes an architectural feature. Large-scale topiary elements are included, including hedges, doorways, windows, niches and alcoves; and geometric shapes from spheres to pyramids and turrets to spirals. There are also suggestions for more advanced planting such as knot gardens, parterres and mazes. Step-by-step projects include how to create a spiral and standard, train an arch, create freehand figures and use topiary frames. An extensive plant directory lists the best topiary plants and the training to which they are suited. From a modest pair of clipped standards to the dramatic parterres of the great French châteaux, this fabulous book explores all forms of plant training, clipping and shaping. 
Jenny Hendy has written many gardening books on a range of subjects, although planting and design have always been her speciality. She has an Honours degree in Classical Botany, has worked for one of Britain’s leading gardening magazines and was editor of the European Topiary Society’s journal, Topiarius. An author, lecturer and TV guest presenter, Jenny also has a thriving garden design consultancy. She won the Garden Media Guild Award in 2010 for the Practical Book of the Year for her book Kid’s First Gardening Book.