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Topiarius

The European flagship magazine of EBTS

Aptly named ‘Topiarius’ – the word used by the keen topiarist Pliny the Younger (62-100AD) to describe his most prized and skilled gardener –  the EBTS annual journal is issued free to all members of the Society. It contains a variety of articles of academic, botanical and scientific interest, as well as articles on garden design. It has features on many exclusive private gardens, both historical and contemporary, which have been visited by EBTS members across Europe.

New Editor for Topiarius – Elizabeth Hilliard

It is a joy and an honour to take over as Editor of Topiarius from Caroline Foley, under whose leadership the magazine has gone from strength to strength in recent decades – not least in the elegant new look of its recent redesign by Abigail Dodd with whom I’m looking forward to working closely. My heartfelt thanks to Caroline for her generous guidance and support during the handover, and indeed to all of you who make essential contributions to the publication in so many ways, from writing to advising to securing advertising.

Our magazine’s mission is to be beautiful and informative, and to champion the growing of box and challenge those who say the moth and the blight make it not worth the trouble these days! By extension, we also champion the history and uses of boxwood, not forgetting other topiary plant materials, as well as celebrating, exploring and learning from gardens across Europe and the world which use or used topiary – gardens of all styles, scales and periods, often but not always formal in design. Look out for the ‘sticker’ which indicates that a featured garden was one which members had the privilege of visiting in person during the past year.

Of course, Topiarius always strives to extoll the value of EBTS membership and facilitate joining by people of all ages and levels of expertise. And in the 21st century, we also aim actively to direct people to the website (and other digital platforms such as Instagram) for inspiration, practical advice, and the latest news and science. Combining these two themes, from next year we hope to offer members-only bonus material on the website, additional content and photographs which will enrich the pleasure of reading articles in the magazine.

As we look forward at this time of change at the helm of Topiarius , I’d be interested to hear from you, EBTS UK members and readers, with feedback, ideas and suggestions for anything at all which you might like to see in our magazine. In particular, as we progress towards the editorial deadline in the early months of next year, I’m keen to hear of any news items you’d like to share, propose, or contribute; these might be about gardens, gardeners or designers, tools or equipment, plant materials or pests – let me know!

Elizabeth Hilliard

ELizabeth Hilliard
The Editor
Topiarius

editor.topiarius@ebts.org

Topiarius Archive

All editions of Topiarius are available to EBTS UK Members to view online when logged in to their account.