No frames are needed
Top Topiary Tip from…
Darren Lerigo
Modern Mint
A frame might give you a shape to prune to, but it also limits possibilities – you may well have a branch with a distinctive shape, or character, or perhaps an elbow of stem that demands to be accentuated into a proper feature. The dictatorship of a frame never allows this individual plant to be itself and breathe.
Stand back, look at the plant you want to clip and use your imagination. What extraordinary shape do you want to be viewing in a few years time? What character does the plant already have that can be drawn out with a few pruning cuts?
Trust yourself. Trust your sense of humour, your imagination. And if you can’t trust them? Well for goodness sake get a grip!
You only develop your topiary eye by allowing these parts of yourself to be trusted. Consider it topiary art as therapy, if that seems more palatable.
Throw away the frame and thrill me with what you can make.