Animal Topiary – Wire Frame Topiary
A wire topiary frame is the start of your own animal topiary. Pack it with sphagnum moss for an instant shape, or set it over a growing shrub and clip the plant to the wire. The frames are welded, galvanized steel rod and can stay outdoors all year. New to topiary? Start with a small frame, and ask us anything along the way.
Need a size or shape you don’t see?
Tell us the space and the height. We will suggest pieces and quote them with delivery to your ZIP.
Why choose wire topiary frames
A wire frame gives you the animal's outline in steel before anything green goes on it. You choose the shape now and decide later how it gets covered: moss for a quick result, or a shrub for a slow one. That choice runs through every row below, along with the questions people ask most about size, animals and how the steel lasts outside.
Making a topiary animal from a frame
There are two ways. They differ mostly in time. Pack the frame with soaked sphagnum moss and you have the animal the same day. Push rooted creeping fig into the moss and it can cover the shape in under three months, though creeping fig survives winter outdoors only in zones 8 to 11.
Wear gloves when you handle sphagnum, because it can carry a fungus that enters through cuts. The moss guide has the packing steps. A 13 in hopping rabbit is an easy first frame, and every rabbit we stock is on the bunny topiary page.
Hedge animals and animal shaped bushes
To grow a hedge animal, set the frame over a young shrub and clip whatever grows past the wire. Small-leaved plants such as boxwood show the most detail, and deer usually leave boxwood alone. Keep the frame in place as a guide.
This is slow. Expect it to take years. Openings in a frame for shrubs should be at least 4 inches across, so the stems are not choked as they thicken. Dogs are the biggest group of frames, and the dog topiary page shows every breed.
Large animal topiary frames
Size changes the job. A 52 in deer, a 60 in moose or a giraffe that runs to 14 ft is made from heavier rod, with internal tubing that keeps the shape under load. A frame this size reads from across a lawn.
Large frames travel by freight and are quoted with delivery. For a deer, a doe and a fawn together, start on the deer topiary page. For an animal we do not stock, we build custom frames to your drawing or photo.
Galvanized frames that stay outside all year
Every frame is welded steel rod, galvanized over every surface, so it can stay outdoors all year, bare or planted. Some people never cover it. A bare swan by a pond reads as a garden sculpture, and powder coating in a color is an optional upgrade.
If a planted frame sits in a pot, the plants may need winter protection. The steel does not. Frames ship across the US and Canada, small ones by UPS or FedEx. See every swan topiary we stock, bare or mossed.
Questions about Wire Frame Topiary
Are wire topiary frames good for beginners?
Yes. The frame holds the shape, so you fill or clip to a line instead of carving freehand. Start with a small frame and pack it with sphagnum moss, which gives you the animal on the first day. Training a shrub over a frame is slower. See choosing a topiary frame.
How do I make a hedge animal or an animal-shaped bush?
Set a frame over a growing shrub such as boxwood or euonymus, and clip anything that grows past the wire. Trim about every 4 to 6 weeks in the growing season, and keep the frame in place while the plant fills it. How to make topiary animals from plants covers plant choice.
What do I put on a wire frame?
Long-fiber sphagnum moss, packed tight, is the traditional filling. You can also plant creeping fig or small-leaved ivy and let it grow through the frame, or leave the steel bare as a sculpture. Moss is sold separately under topiary supplies.
Will a bare frame rust outside?
No. The steel is galvanized over every surface, including the welds, where outdoor steel usually fails first. A bare or planted frame can stay outside year-round. If you want a color, powder coating is an optional upgrade.
Do you ship topiary frames to Canada?
Yes. We ship across the US and Canada. Smaller frames go by parcel, UPS or FedEx, and large ones go by freight, quoted with delivery. Returns are accepted for 15 days after delivery. If a shipment arrives damaged, refuse it.
Can you make a frame to my own design?
Yes. We build custom frames to your drawing or photo. Send a sketch or a photograph with the height you want. Lead times vary with the piece, and custom topiary design explains how a commission runs.
Can I buy the animal already mossed?
Yes. If you would rather not fill a frame yourself, mossed animal topiary has animals finished in sphagnum moss. For dogs, the dog topiary page puts every finish we stock side by side.
