Shape Landscaping Like Topiary

The imaginative team at Shape Landscaping say, “Create some excitement in your garden to ensure it’s a cut above the rest with topiary!” The age-old art of topiary involves the clipping and training of the foliage and stems of shrubs and small trees to create shapes and structures. These can become great focal points within your garden design. The big question is, which plants to choose? Shape Landscaping recommend that the best topiary plants are evergreen and slow growing with pliable branches, and have small, close-knit foliage which respond well and recover quickly after trimming. A strong central stem is essential where a stemmed ball or spiral shape is required. 

 

Shape Landscaping have provided several good options for topiary to incorporate in your garden design below:

 

Buxus is a popular variety of plant that responds well to clipping. There are many different varieties of Buxus: however Shape Landscaping would recommend Buxus Green Gem which is a beautiful hybrid Buxus, disease free, with glossy bright green foliage. These are often shaped into round balls, and can also be used for low formal hedging.  

 

Podocarpus gracilor has long been prized as a topiary subject and responds well to trimming or shaping. It is a slow growing tree that has soft weeping bushy foliage with a rich deep green colour. It is resistant to pests and diseases, can handle mild drought and is salt tolerant. It can be shaped into balls, or cloud formations, which can be a spectacular addition to your garden design. 

 

Eugenia ventenati is one of the most popular hedging species planted in northern New Zealand. The Australian native has a compact upright growth habit that responds remarkably to trimming, making it a great option for topiary. New foliage is deep maroon red changing to dark glossy green as it ages.  

 

Shape Landscaping say to take care of your topiary, clip as frequently as is required. Feed with fertiliser in early spring and mid-summer and water consistently.

 

If you are looking to incorporate topiary in your landscape design and need some assistance, the Shape Landscaping team are here to help. Located in Auckland, visit their website at http://www.shapelandscaping.co.nz to get in touch.