Shape, Snip, Prune, Repeat

Famed British garden designer Arne Maynard trumpets the ornamental majesty of the topiary. Plus, a look at the showstopping forms throughout history and the master topiarists behind them all

- Arne Maynard

I STILL VIVIDLY REMEMBER noticing topiary for the first time. I was just 3 or 4 years old, riding the bus into the local market town near where we lived in Dorset to go shopping with my mother. I always wanted to sit upstairs so I could see over the hawthorn hedge of a particular house we passed, enthralled by the incredible wedding-cake clipped yew in the front garden. It was so precise, so perfectly formed, and I was mesmerized.

In almost all the gardens I’ve designed around the world since I began my practice in 1986, I have used topiary to some degree, no doubt influenced by those early memories. Traditionally, topiary was considered a very formal element, associated with large, grand gardens and set out in rigid patterns to accentuate axes and punctuate formal spaces. Opulence in garden design, including the use of these clipped shapes, was often a symbol of status, signifying wealth and power. However, my preference is for a more informal, asymmetrical style, using simple shapes—domes, balls, and layered cones—to bring an element of fun to a garden. This style is inspired by the more nave, organic shapes found in modest cottage gardens—often introduced by gardeners who were employed by grander properties and who wanted a little whimsy in their spaces.