To clip or not to clip

“I snip because I am”

-- attributed to Edward

Scissorhands

“Oops!”

-- The most dreaded word

in a topiarist’s vocabulary

Over a fairly decent and mainly self-celebratory career as a

horticulturist, I have cultivated a taste for almost anything that is

different and curious.

According to my wife, Catharine, the aforementioned statement is

unarguably an apt description of my entire adult life prior to

meeting her. Nevertheless, I do share a not-so-secret fetish ... I

hold a passion for topiary.

The craft of topiary requires clipping, trimming and training

living shrubs, vines and trees into decorative shapes or frivolous

figures. The former or latter are often selected by one’s opinion on

whether topiary is art or not. A practicing topiarist must be able to

plan in minute detail over a long period of time. Typically

introverts, the best are part arborist, part landscape architect and

part clairvoyant.

The Romans practiced an ancient garden craft of topiary. In fact,

the Latin word topia translates to ornamental gardening. The citizens

of Rome were avid landscapers and their streets and gardens were

lined with trees and shrubs. Roman gardeners -- incidentally members

of the second oldest profession -- were busy trimming and maintaining

these plants.

Although the art evolved over time, legend gives a friend of the

Roman Emperor Augustus credit for inventing topiary. Garden

historians speculate that at some point in time, a gardener became

creative ... early Roman hedges and standards gave way to classical

cones, columns and spires. A multitude of plantings were used,

including bay, rosemary and boxwood.

A millennium or so passed during the Dark Ages. Tudor England

reawakened classical topiary and took it one step further. Tree

barbers, tree masons and foliage sculptors literally and liberally

peppered the countryside with vegetative foxes, birds, children and

warships. These excesses raised the ire of critics, and topiary was

described as “a monument of perverted taste.” On the bright side,

these works did demonstrate a high degree of horticultural skill.

The best architectural use of topiary is to be seen where

stonework was costly and where suitable plants were available. The

English and Dutch made lavish use of yew, holly, boxwood, privet,

arborvitae and taxus to create hedges, mazes and finials. Other

purely architectural work may be seen at the Alhambra in Granada and

Italian gardens in Florence and Rome. Or even closer to home, visit

the Storybook ride at Disneyland.

An unfinished topiary question mark lies hidden, out of the way in

our garden. When completed it will be simple but impressive ...

symbolic of my wonderment of it all. Lovingly and steadfastly

fashioned from boxwood, I see it shaping in my dreams, where I always

snip (and view story poles) with care. See you next time.

* STEVE KAWARATANI is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna Nursery,

1278 Glenneyre in Laguna Beach. He is married to local artist

Catharine Cooper and has two cats. He can be reached at (949)

497-2438, or e-mail to [email protected].