The design possibilities for topiary sculpture are virtually limitless--only the imagination and some basic skills are needed to produce fanciful, exotic, traditional, or wildly individual designs with living plants. This is the book that tells the beginner how to do it. Supplemented by information on appropriate plants, climate zones, international suppliers of plants, and the needed tools, Hendy's book provides the reader with information on how to train plants to grow on wire frames, create inventive wire frames in all manner of shapes and configurations, choose the appropriate tools and materials needed, and help produce stunning topiary designs in weeks, not months or years. It also offers sound advice on the care and maintenance of your living sculptures to keep them green and healthy for years. It is generously illustrated with more than 300 color photographs showing basic steps and techniques, as well as delightful finished products from gardens and homes around the world. --Mark A. Hetts
From Booklist
The ease of creating topiary is emphasized in Handy's basic guide to both tabletop varieties and large-scale sculptural forms for the garden, conservatory, or greenhouse. Beginning with step-by-step advice on how to fabricate wire frames, Handy starts small with a simple two-dimensional heart shape, then progresses to more complex forms, such as a three-dimensional peacock made of the common box shrub and a stately cyprus trained as a tall corkscrew ornament for outdoors. Handy addresses problems that may occur and offers tips on general care for all types of topiary. Includes a portfolio of shapes and a directory of plants that notes temperature ranges, cultural requirements, flowering periods, characteristics, and training methods. Alice Joyce
Book Description
Includes information on the best plants to use for topiary, each evaluated for its approximate growth rate, minimum temperature requirement, watering, and feeding needs.
From the Back Cover
Tips on adapting traditional topiary shapes to create stunning effects in weeks not years Instant plant designs and a wide range of topiary frames for your home and garden Full planting instructions and a directory of plants suitable for quick and easy topiary
About the Author
Jenny Hendy is the author of Storey's Quick and Easy Topiary and Green Sculpture, a book filled with photographs and instructions on making beautiful and innovative creations that range from spirals and unique Christmas trees to little elephants and giant rabbits.
Quick and Easy Topiary and Green Sculpture: Create Traditional Effects with Fast-Growing Climbers and Wire Frames ANNOTATION
This compilation of practical, proven techniques from a trained botanist on how to quickly and successfully grow distinctive topiaries and green sculptures for home and garden includes step-by-step instructions and more than 300 full-color drawings and photos which illustrate basic techniques.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
An indispensable guide to growing plants into fanciful and distinctive shapes quickly and easily! Contains information on the best plants to use, and each is evaluated for its approximate growth rate, minimum temperature requirement, and watering and feeding needs. Includes step-by-step instructions on how to create the frames and over 300 illustrations and photography.
SYNOPSIS
Includes information on the best plants to use for topiary, each evaluated for its approximate growth rate, minimum temperature requirement, watering, and feeding needs.
Jenny Hendy is the author of Storey's Quick and Easy Topiary and Green Sculpture, a book filled with photographs and instructions on making beautiful and innovative creations that range from spirals and unique Christmas trees to little elephants and giant rabbits.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Geared to a specialty audience, this guide to planting and caring for topiaries comes from a garden designer in Great Britain. Handy's discussion spans the gamut of styles and moods-"formal or informal, quirky or imposing." Basic techniques of making wire frames for a series of examples-from a simple heart to 3-D "talking head" shapes-are made easy to understand with illustrated step-by-step directions. Further instructions for training and clipping plants into desired shapes may cause the inexperienced gardener to struggle. Neither quick nor easy, many of these projects assume more than a little horticultural knowledge and will take several years to "adapt." The first step in "Clipping a Cone into a Spiral," for instance, calls for "a bushy, well-shaped box plant approximately four years old from a cutting." For the patient enthusiast, however, the text lays out the process for creating the likes of a potted honeysuckle peacock, conifer corkscrews or fruit-bearing standards. The concluding plant directory offers information about more than 50 topiary-friendly cultivars. Zone maps are provided for Europe, Australia and South Africa, but not for the U.S.; of the 17 suppliers listed, two are in the States. (Apr.)
Art & Photography
Book Info
