Topiarius 25

Topiarius in 2021 celebrates some of the world’s most celebrated garden designers, old and new, who use topiary. We take a close look at an extraordinary design for a parterre in Australia by top designer, Paul Bangay. We meet Bunny Mellon, who was personally hired by JFK to redesign the Rose Garden at White House, and we consider at design influence on Harold Peto and Ferdinand Bac on the gardens of Côte d’Azur in the Roaring Twenties. We celebrate the beautiful designs of Arne Maynard, our latest EBTS Honorary Member.

News of progress comes in the round up on the latest science. There is even an organic home recipe from EBTS Germany on how to deal with the box caterpillar. There is positive news of a restoration of 17th century Wilánow Palace in Warsaw and at Annevoie, an exceptional garden and hydraulic masterpiece in Belgium of the same period.

We interview Jake Hobson, who introduced the tripod topiary ladder from Japan and consider on the use of various types of topiary template. There is a fresh take on plants that adapt well for clipping from the US and we report on an article about the effect of topiary on children’s imaginations. Very far from last, is an interview with Richard Saunders, the inventor of the virtual Topiary Cat, a giant surreal beast that lounges around in famous topiary gardens. In fact, this seems to have been a surreal year, as we also feature a painting of a topiary garden by the surrealist artist PJ Crook.