FALL HOME UPDATE : GARDENING : A Gardening Trend Is Taking Shape

An ivy iguana. A juniper jaguar. A pyracantha python. Topiary has begun cropping up on private patios as well as in public parks, and its artistry appears to know no limits.

In North County, a handful of businesses cater specifically to the art form, which is achieved by trimming and training plants and trees into ornamental shapes. Some contract with landscape architects, while others concentrate on serving the home gardener.

Topiary of La Costa is one place that does not know the meaning of “too small a garden.” Owner Donna Wright has designed topiary for people with expansive back yards as well as condo owners with small patios or balconies. In her own back yard are a life-size deer and lion, an 11-foot giraffe and a 5-foot elephant she created.

Wright sees an increasing interest in this “poor man’s sculpture,” but said not many people know how to go about creating their own topiary. A horticulturist who always admired topiary gardens in her worldwide travels, Wright had difficulty finding someone to teach her the craft until she volunteered at a topiary conference at the San Diego Zoo in 1990.

Wright now teaches topiary, including in upcoming workshops: a creeping golden marjoram duck in October and a swan in November. The classes cost about $40, including materials for a small topiary, and are held in Wright’s back yard.

Topiary gets its roots from the Greeks and Romans who shaped plants into ships, beasts and other fanciful designs. The geometrics, mazes and animal styles seen today are most commonly associated with English gardens.

“It definitely went out of style, but now it’s really enjoying an interesting resurgence,” said Chuck Coburn, who is horticulturist in charge of the San Diego Zoo’s 35-piece topiary garden and co-owner of Coburn Topiary in Encinitas.

“For me, it’s an art form that allows me to express all that I feel about gardens through a different medium,” he said. “It’s a whole new realm, and it’s pretty exciting in that respect.”

Traditionally, only highly skilled gardeners attempted topiary, Coburn said. Without benefit of metal framing, they would grow a plant from the ground up, train the twigs to bend in certain directions and prune the leaves to achieve the desired shape.

Patience was as essential as skill because creating and diligently maintaining topiary in this manner took years. As sophisticated and labor-intensive as the method was, the result was a topiary that could last a lifetime.

Contemporary topiary generally bypasses such a time-consuming method, Coburn said. The process can be expedited in a number of ways, using heavy-gauge wire or steel frames.

A particularly popular method involves stuffing sphagnum moss and potting soil into a frame, tightly wrapping the frame in monofilament and plugging the exterior with ivy cuttings or some other covering.

“One of the benefits of stuffed topiary is it’s very quick,” Coburn said.

“It’s simplest in terms of culture and maintenance,” he said, although irrigation breaks down the organic moss and plants eventually shrink away from the frame, requiring a complete rebuilding about every four years.

The key is getting the right frame. Large frames, such as those of the life-size elephants that flank the entrance to the San Diego Zoo, are made of steel. Smaller frames are generally constructed of 8- or 10-gauge aviary wire. Frames are as varied in quality and style as the artisans who create them, Coburn said. No matter what the style of the frame, be it monkey or maze, topiary gardeners interested in large, outdoor pieces should keep two factors in mind: finish and strength.

A finished frame is important to stand the rigors of weather and irrigation, Coburn said, adding that he sandblasts and powder-coats his frames to create a durable finish.

A sturdy frame for a large piece is one that can stand alone as a sculpture without any addition of plant material, he said. Rounded steel that is at least 3/8 of an inch thick ensures strength, as do frame pieces that are arc-welded.

Frames that extend into the ground are also helpful in preventing topiary theft and providing added stability for curious climbers.

“People are attracted to topiaries. Kids want to climb on them or hang from their neck and back,” Coburn said of the life-size figures at the zoo. “You want to make sure they (the topiaries) are secure and make sure it’s a safe topple if they do topple over.”

Finding large topiary frames requires some diligence, too, since they are not readily available in nurseries or garden sections of large discount stores.

A limited number of companies throughout the country sell frames, but Coburn hopes to see the market broaden in the future.

Mission Hills Nursery in Encinitas (formerly Olivenhain Nursery) sells heavy-gauge wire frames starting at $20 for a 12-inch-high animal shape. The nursery also sells the materials for stuffing and covering topiary.

The nursery also makes topiary for customers not inclined to do it themselves. A topiary artist who can craft frames from drawings and pictures is on the staff. One North County client recently had a topiary fashioned of Mr. McGregor (of Peter Cottontail fame) chasing a rabbit; another brought in a drawing and the nursery made a topiary of an old woman bending over in a garden pulling weeds.

Smaller topiary--called portable or tabletop topiary--can be found in local nurseries and are meant for the patio or dining room. Again, quality and style can vary tremendously.

Small-leafed plants that are compact and neat and respond well to pruning by generating a lot of new shoots and buds are ideal for creating topiary. Some of the more popular plants that give good definition and keep their shape are juniper, eugenia, creeping fig and pyracantha.

Wright of Topiary of La Costa encourages her students to experiment with different topiary coverings. For those who love to cook, a small topiary covered with herbs or stuffed with garlic can make a convenient and attractive living spice rack.

“Anything with a small leaf that wants to hug the form would be good to use,” Wright said. “Herbs are popular with people in condos. If they have a small balcony or small garden, they can put these portable topiary on a shelf and plant thyme or marjoram or rosemary.”

Coburn agrees that anything can go with topiary, especially in coastal Southern California, a mecca for all types of flowers and plants, including drought-tolerant ones.

“Just as Southern California gardens can accommodate plants from all over the world, it’s also true of topiaries,” Coburn said.

For gardeners who want to try their hand at creating their own topiary, here are some businesses and how-to books:

Mission Hills Nursery, 442 N. Rancho Santa Fe Road, Encinitas. 753-7177

Topiary of La Costa, 7428 Solano St., La Costa. 944-3547

Coburn Topiary, Encinitas. 440-7511

Printed guides sold in bookstores include:

“Creating Topiary” by Geraldine Lacey.

“Complete Book of Topiary” by Barbara Gallup and Deborah Reich.

“The New Topiary” by Patricia Hammer.