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Topiary is the art of cutting living trees and shrubs into special shapes. Classic topiary is about shaping plants into cones, cylinders, pyramids or spheres. More modern topiary is about cutting plants into living statues of animals or other shapes. Evergreen plants with small, dense, evenly coloured leaves are ideal for topiary. Holly, myrtle, yew, privet and box are all favourites. 


Topiary is popular in landscaped gardens today. But topiary goes back over 2,000 years. Topiary comes from the Latin word "toparius", meaning a landscape gardener. Most Roman gardeners were slaves. It is likely that slaves from Egypt brought topiary to the gardens of Rome. Topiary has been in and out of fashion ever since!

Topiary was popular in the 1500s in Italy. Over the next 200 years, topiary spread to the gardens of the rich and wealthy across Europe. European mansions and palaces all included large formal gardens. Paths edged with neat hedges divided these gardens into different parts. In some areas, gardeners created fantasy areas filled with topiary horses, dogs, dolphins, dragons and sea serpents! Later on, people started to experiment with mazes and walkways designed to confuse and amuse people. One of the most famous mazes in the world is at Hampton Court Palace in the UK. This maze attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. The maze has over 800 metres of pathway running between thick, high hedges. Hundreds of people get lost in this maze every day. They love it!