The Art of Topiary Topiary is the practice of training, clipping, and shearing plants so that they grow into specific shapes and forms. Plants may be trained into simple geometric shapes or into more complex forms depicting human or animal shapes. Topiaries may be shaped into inanimate objects such as locomotives, lighthouses, and buildings. Some of the more elaborate topiaries are actually several plants trained and sheared to look as if they were one large plant. Topiaries may take several years of growth to be completed.
Topiaries require continual pruning and pinching to train the plants.
They may either be free-standing, which means shaped from the plant itself, or it may be a plant or plants which are trained over a wire form. This form may or may not be filled with sheet moss and soil, depending upon the technique used. Plants for topiary must be able to withstand the repeated shearing and clipping. Small-leaved plants are excellent topiary candidates. Boxwood, privet, rosemary, yew, and arborvitae are good choices for free-standing topiary.