There’s nothing that adds elegance and whimsy to a garden like topiary. Amaze with shrubs shaped like balls, cones, squares, and animals. You can even bring life and love to your home with small-scale shapes. However, it’s no secret that creating a topiary masterpiece can be a little intimidating. Don’t worry, it’s a lot easier than you think, and you don’t need a ton of supplies, either. Take a look at all the ways you can start your topiary garden with this ultimate selection of videos on creating and maintaining a topiary.
The Basics for Creating Topiary Animals
This video is perfect for anyone just getting started in topiary. It shows you a super simple way to create a topiary dog out of two rebar and two small arborvitaes. You can also get tips on the easiest size of rebar to bend for making topiary, and how to plant your shrubs so they stay strong and healthy. Check out how to make your topiary resemble your favorite breed too!
Discover How the Classic Spiral Looks Great in Any Garden
Learn how to make a classic spiral shape out of the perfect kind of arborvitae in this video created by Garden Gate Magazine. Take a look at how to confidently and expertly trim a spiral one section at a time. Find out what kind of clippers you need to give your shrub the details it needs to stand out. This particular video goes into excellent detail about trimming and promoting new growth.
Seek Out Symmetry
In this video, topiary influencer Linda Vater shows you how to choose the right plant for creating an amazing topiary, and how to work its natural shape so it makes a stunning addition to any sized garden. Watch Linda make a double-ball standard out of a green mountain boxwood while gaining confidence with your trimming skills. Watch out! She’s a stickler for symmetry.
Learn How to Choose the Right wireframe
Dodie Jackson from the Garden Club of Houston brings us this wonderful video on how to make wired topiary out of prostrate rosemary and fig ivy, which both have beautiful natural bends. She details the different kinds of topiary and explains how to choose the ideal wire frame to support your topiary. Dodie also shows you all the supplies you need to make topiary as easy as possible, and where you can find them.
You Don’t Have to Use Boxwood
You can learn a lot from this informative video about the ideal evergreens for creating simple topiary. Find out about the best alternatives to boxwood shrubs, which are the most common kinds of plants to create topiary. Discover details on how to avoid blight and pests, by exploring English and Irish yews, and pittosporum. Learn how to choose a healthy plant from a nursery, which plants work well in certain areas, and how to trim them so they look their best.
Find Harmony in Simple Topiary Shapes
This video shows you how to add structure and definition to your garden by using simple topiary shapes that even an amateur can create. Learn how shapes like balls, cones, and rectangles can add flare in both the summer and the winter. See how balance and repetition make your garden stunning. Plus, find out how you can be inspired by your home’s architecture to create a topiary that truly stands out.
Get Inspired by Expert Topiary
Discover how topiary sparks joy in both children and adults alike in this spectacular video presented by P. Allen Smith’s Garden Style. Learn about the best plants for creating topiary at your home and a little history about topiary gardens in the United States. See gorgeous examples of expert topiary like a unicorn, giraffe, and even a grand-scale topiary elephant. Also, find out how much work it takes to run a full-scale topiary garden.
Look at How Topiary Can Add to Your Landscape.
Learn about choosing the right large arborvitaes for an entire landscape with this video made by Growing Wisdom. Watch Dave Epstein get up close and personal with evergreens and explain how you can create shapes to add dimension to your landscape or you can use taller topiary as privacy screens and fencing. As a bonus, find out about a curious indoor plant that can add some major style to your home.
Details on How to Take Care of Your Topiary
Once you’ve created your topiary masterpiece, you’re going to want to know how to take care of it. Find out how to train boxwood and ivy into interesting and easy shapes and how much water your topiary actually needs. Get tips on how to care for moss added to your plant, when and how to trim your topiary, and how much sunlight it needs to grow into a full, robust shape to impress any guest at a garden party.
Make a Small Topiary Out of Myrtle
Take a look at this fun and interesting video on how to make topiary with Myrtle presented by Growing Wisdom. Find out how you can easily train this spectacular shrub into something that brings life to your home in the winter and drama to your garden in the spring and summer. Get tips on how to build a small topiary by using a plant’s natural structure to create the perfect shape. Also, take a look at how to encourage growth by trimming in the right places.
Grow From Your Mistakes with Topiary
While we all want to expertly trim our plants to look like beautiful artwork, mistakes are going to be made. That’s okay because if you over-trim certain areas or can’t immediately take care of your topiary, time will always erase your mistakes. The most important part of taking up topiary as a hobby is using it as a way to have fun and relax. If you’re feeling frustrated or overwhelmed with topiary, never hesitate to reach out for help. Your favorite nursery or gardening supply center is always there to lend a helping hand!
