Topiary facts for kids

Topiary is the art of creating sculptures by clipping trees and bushes (shrubs). The shrubs used in topiary are evergreen, have small leaves, and produce dense foliage. Common plants used in topiary include bay laurel, holly bushes, myrtle and privet hedges. Shaped wire cages are sometimes used in modern topiary but traditional topiary depends on using special scissors with patience and a steady hand.

History

The word derives from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener. A friend of Julius Caesar introduced Rome to the topiary. In Japan and China they have “cloud pruning” where they cut bushes into the shapes of clouds and “Karikomi”, where they cut large shrubs into curved shapes and objects. Bonsai is a form of topiary. During the 16th century in Europe typical traditional topiary included geometric shapes: balls, pyramids, cones, and spirals. In the 20th century Walt Disney used topiaries in the form of his cartoon characters to decorate his theme parks.

Images for kids

Squirrel topiary, Rufford Old Hall, Rufford, Lancashire, England.
Castelo Branco Portugal.
Cloud-pruning only distantly related to natural forms in Hallyeo Haesang National Park, Geoje, South Korea
Simple upright topiary shapes punctuate the patterned parterres of Heidelberg ca 1590, in this view by Jacques Fouquiere
Levens Hall's Elizabethan topiary in 1833
Beckley Park, Oxfordshire: cottage garden topiary formulas taken up in an early 20th-century elite English garden in a historic house setting
Topiary Château de Hautefort
Topiary at Railton, Town of Topiary, Tasmania, Australia
Topiary elephants at Bang Pa-In Royal Palace
Topiary at Kingston Lacy, UK
Topiary birds at Hidcote Manor Garden
Topiary garden at Manor d'Eyrignac, France
The path to St Peter's Church in Henfield is flanked by topiary
Topiary house
A topiary pig in Halton, Northumberland
Topiary in the Botanical garden Thiruvananthapuram
Dragon shaped hedge, East Rudham