Sentence:  The palace garden might have had a semblance of coolness had there been any trees, but the tallest things were fanciful <WSD>topiary</WSD>, tortured into the shapes of running horses or bears performing tumblers' tricks or the like. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Art or practice of trimming shrubs or trees in artistic or ornamental shapes, e.g. of animals.