It embraces everything from an amateur enthusiast carving their house number into the privet at the front of their garden, to the eccentric environmental sculptures of Ivan Hicks. It is an art form as well as a hobby, giving pleasure to those who patiently undertake the clipping over the years as much as to those who admire the resulting figures. Topiary links with two very English characteristics: strong individualism (which can sometimes tip into eccentricity!) and a passion for gardening, for “civilising” nature.

 

A history

Like many things we think of as quintessentially English, topiary has its origins in far-flung lands and times long past. There is evidence for the practice of shaping hedges in the tomb paintings of the Ancient Egyptians, the records of the Persian Empire and Ancient Greece and in Jewish and Syrian civilisations. However, the word topiary, if not the art form, seems to originate with the Romans and it was most probably them who introduced topiary to England. The Latin word topia means "ornamental garden" and the slave who carved the hedges into intricate patterns was known as the topiarius.

 
At this point the art form was mainly about creating clean lines and borders in formal gardens. In the 17th century, the heyday of topiary, inspiration came from the fabulous gardens created by monks in Renaissance Italy, as well as the extravagances of the gardens at the Palace of Versailles and in Holland. They featured outlandish collections of animals and twisting shapes as well as simple, abstract patterns. The possibilities captured the imagination of English gardeners who avidly embraced the art form.

One of the oldest and most spectacular topiary gardens still surviving in England is Levens Hall in Cumbria. The designer of this hedge fantasia, Guillaume Beaumont, worked at Versailles and Hampton Court before being commissioned to design for Levens Hall. His extraordinary designs have remained unchanged for more than 300 years. Visit www.levenshall.co.uk to find out more about Guillaume Beaumont's designs.

 

As the fashion for formal gardens faded, topiary found its detractors. In 1713, Alexander Pope ridiculed the art in a newspaper of the day, composing a satirical “Catalogue of Greens”, purportedly dictated by “a Virtuoso Gardener who has had a turn to sculpture”. The list contains “Adam and Eve in Yew, Adam a little shattered by the fall of the tree of Knowledge in the great storm; Eve and the Serpent, very flourishing.” As well as “St George in box, his arm scarce long enough, but will be in condition to stick the dragon by next April” and “a pair of giants, stunted, to be sold cheap”.

 
The Victorians re-discovered the art of topiary, harking back to the Jacobethan age in garden design as well as architecture. Always energetically following the fashion, they were responsible for the invention of a variety of tools to assist in the creation of increasingly complex forms for hedges. After the first world war, the great houses of England found themselves understaffed and high-maintenance topiary gardens began to decline in popularity. Individual gardeners never lost the passion, however, and the garden at Great Dixter created by Christopher Lloyd is a wonderful example of a 20th century topiary.

 

Modern topiary

Topiary is experiencing a resurgence today, especially in urban gardens where you are more likely to find a beautiful topiary form sprouting out of a pot on a deck rather than flourishing as part of an ancient and cultivated hedge. You can even buy topiary frames to help you cut your pot plants and hedges into ready-made, easy-to-maintain shapes.

 
The European Boxwood and Topiary Society is keen to reclaim topiary as an art form to be celebrated rather than ridiculed. Which side of the hedge do you come down on?

 

• There is a comprehensive list of topiary gardens to visit in England at http://www.frostatmidnight.co.uk
  
  
• To create your own topiary see http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/projects/topiary_index.shtml