A commercial topiary is a different object from a garden one. It stands in public, unattended, through weather and crowds, often for years — and it usually has to be a specific thing, at a specific size, by a specific date. That is an engineering brief before it is a horticultural one, and it is most of what this workshop does.
It starts as a drawing
Every large commission begins in CAD. The shape is worked out and dimensioned before any steel is cut, because at scale the silhouette has to read correctly from the distance people will actually see it from — across a plaza, down a street, from a road. Drawings also settle the things that decide the price: how it is anchored, how it ships, how it is accessed for cleaning.
Then it is welded
The armature is welded steel, built in sections in our own workshop and powder-coated or galvanized against rust. On large builds the rods run a quarter to three-eighths of an inch, and the rule here is that anything over six feet carries internal steel tubing. That is the difference between an event prop and a piece that can stand in a public space through a winter with people leaning on it.
Then it is covered
Outdoor pieces are dressed in UV-rated, fire-resistant foliage carrying a five-to-eight-year no-fade warranty, which in practice usually runs longer before anyone minds how it looks. Mossed pieces can be planted into, so a frame can carry living material where the site allows it. And when the foliage eventually goes, the steel does not: a piece can be stripped, re-coated and re-covered rather than replaced — see the eight-year-old swan.
What that has produced
What a commercial piece is made of
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Design | CAD drawings, dimensioned and approved before fabrication |
| Frame | Welded steel, built in sections in our workshop |
| Structure | Internal steel tubing on anything over six feet |
| Finish | Powder-coated or galvanized against rust |
| Foliage | UV-rated and fire-resistant, five-to-eight-year no-fade warranty |
| Lighting | Optional, including solar where there is no power feed |
| Upkeep | Occasional cleaning; no watering, no seasonal work |
| End of life | Re-coat and re-cover the original frame rather than replace it |
The same construction is what we sell every day: the frames on their own are in wire frame topiary, finished mossed pieces in mossed animal topiary, turf-covered figures in turf topiary, and lit pieces in lighted animal topiary. A commercial commission is one of those, drawn and built to your site.
Where these end up
Plazas and public art programmes, hotel and resort grounds, brand activations and launches, trade-show stands, restaurants and retail frontages, and mini-golf courses and attractions. Each of those has its own page: cities and public art, hotels and resorts, events and brand activations, and wholesale and trade. For pieces that already exist and ship as they are, start from custom made topiary.
Starting one
Tell us three things and we can usually tell you whether it is a project: what the piece is, where it has to stand, and when you need it. Large builds run to a lead time measured in weeks, so the date matters as much as the design. Call 866-306-1020 or send us the brief — and if you have a sketch, a photograph of the site, or a logo you want turned into a shape, send that too. More of the work is in the portfolio.
