by Emma Cameron (published in Scotland on Sunday 09/08/09)

Peter Wright's hungry caterpillar in Edinburgh's Grange

It is a horticultural art form that has graced the gardens of stately homes for centuries. Now topiary – the art of clipping trees and shrubs into ornamental sculptures- is spreading from the great houses of the nation into the urban streets of Scotland.

Caterpillars, bears, dogs, handbags and trains have all been spotted taking shape outside the nation’s homes as gardeners take up the challenge.

Sales of traditional topiary shrubs are also soaring, according to garden centres as are purchases of special topiary shears used to fashion the eye-catching shrubbery.

Gardening experts said the rise in popularity was due to more people spending longer periods at home because of the credit crunch and a change in garden fashion.

Jim McColl, star of the BBC’s ‘Beechgrove Garden’ said: “Topiary is certainly becoming more fashionable and popular. The beauty is you don’t need a private gardener or a huge landscape to enjoy topiary and it’s a lot easier than people would think.”

Wire frames are now available to allow first-time topiarists to follow simple designs, McColl said. “The wire nets are available from garden centres for people to give it a try- whether it be a rabbit or a swan. It’s all rather amusing and a lot of it is tongue-in-cheek.”

Neil Fishlock, head of horticulture at Dobbies Garden Centres, said ornamental topiary shrubs were now a big seller. “We have had a sales increase of 129 percent on topiary balls and pyramids this year. Sales of topiary shears have also risen by 14 percent, compared with a year ago.”

One gardener at the forefront of the topiary craze is Leonora Williamson, who has a bear, dog, pig and a small car decorating her front garden in Inveresk, East Lothian. She saw a picture of a topiary horse and jockey in a magazine and decided to experiment herself. “I was cutting the hedge and just left some lumps which eventually started to take shape,” she said. “The bear was intended to be a Buddha but I found it impossible to get the shape right.”

Peter Wright, who lives in Edinburgh’s Grange district, is also a keen topiarist and has carved a caterpillar in his front garden.

“Boring hedges are for boring people,” he said. “My caterpillar really brings a smile to people’s faces and the kids, especially, love it.”

Most clipped structures are made from common box, although other suitable species include holly, bay laurel, myrtle, privet and yew. Major garden shows, such as Chelsea Flower Show, have highlighted the growth of topiary over the last two years as gardeners reject the “wild” look in favour of more formal arrangements. Last year, leading garden designer Diarmuid Gavin’s garden at Chelsea was dominated by vast balls of box hedge.

McColl’s fellow ‘Beechgrove’ presenter Lesley Watson, who works at Dougal Phillip’s New Hopetoun Gardens in West Lothian, believes topiary appeals to those who want to create a shape out of a living structure.

She said: “I’m not surprised it’s on the increase. I think it’s a really easy thing to do. People are worried about pruning something, but you’re only keeping it to a ball or pyramid.”

Hens and rabbits are proving very popular, Watson added. “It’s great fun and the more experienced gardener can handle a bicycle or a peacock.

“I was at Tatton Park in Cheshire where they had a footballer kicking his ball in topiary, so the humour and the fun side of it are definitely there for all to see. It gives admirers something to look at all year round.”

Not just a pretty space

The ancient art of topiary, which means “ornamental gardening” in Latin, is recognised as first becoming popular in Roman gardens.

But it may date back to the time of the ancient Egyptians and the Persians. In both cultures an appreciation of form and function gave rise to a desire to see that widely represented within architecture. From this developed the formalised garden.

Further east from the valleys of the Nile, the creation of formal gardens reached magnificent proportions, and no greater than the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

With the decline and fall of the Roman Empire the art did not die out completely, but for almost a thousand years, the art of topiary remained hidden behind the monastery wall. It wasn’t until the coming of the Renaissance and the flowering of all forms of art that it spread again to the gardens of the wealthy.

The fashion revived again in the 19^th century and the Victorian’s ingenuity for gadgets and tools made it widely accessible.