Topiary and the Art of Training Plants

David Joyce's book on topiary is well-designed to interest the beginning topiarist, along with those who are more experienced. I've had this book for several years now and I learn something from it every time I refer to it. I recently used it to try (hack?) my first topiary -- a boxwood bird. Joyce offers dimensions (such as plant size, and height at which to begin cutting), which I imagine would be helpful to those who appreciate precise directions. There are also large and detailed images of different types of topiary, along with sections on espalier and the like. This is a valuable reference in my garden library.

As someone who loves the structure of formal gardens and wanting to try to create one on a small scale in my yard, I was very pleased with David Joyce's Topiary and the Art of Training Plants. He assumes his reader has some knowledge of the basics of growing plants, although he does give very general information on preparing beds for topiary plants. The book has sections on the causes and some solutions for established topiary in decline and how to correct a neglected and overgrown hedge. The book explains how to create some shapes in topiary along with step by step illustrations. Regarding hedges, it tells when and how to train widely used hedging plants. The book even relates how to grow pleached screens - training trees with flexible branches. There are sections on creating knot gardens, mazes, and climbers used as screens and canopies. The book gives a directory of a selection of plants for topiary and hedges, along with information on the hardiness, growth, size, maintenance, propagation and problems of these plants. It also lists sources to obtain plants and tools. The book is full of color pictures which will inspire plenty of ideas. It will be a great reference as I design and maintain my own topiary.