60 THE BOOK OF TOPIARY 



place. Some of the trees can be clipped into certain 

 shapes when they are quite small ; but for other shapes 

 a much larger tree is necessary to commence work upon. 

 It is a very wise policy to go to a little extra expense on 

 the original outlay of the trees, rather than buy small 

 trees that will be of no use whatever for the work for 

 which they are ultimately intended. 



If the suggestion that I made in a previous chapter 

 has been acted upon, viz., the buying in of the re- 

 quired number of trees some years before the work 

 of making the garden is taken in hand, and bringing 

 them on in the home nursery beds until they have 

 become a suitable size, and until the time arrives when 

 they are required for planting in their permanent places 

 in the garden, the actual cost of the trees will be re- 

 duced to a minimum, and better and more suitable trees 

 secured than if they had been purchased direct from 

 some of the nurserymen. 



Although no actual shaping need be done to them 

 until they are planted in their places in the garden 

 where they are to remain, a little pruning and regulat- 

 ing of the shoots may be carried out. If that is done, 

 it will be found to be a great advantage in adapting 

 the trees to their future work. The buying of young 

 trees from the nurserymen and growing them on 

 in nursery beds in the reserve garden, until they are 

 required for planting in the garden, is a system 

 regularly practised here, and one that is well worth a 

 trial. 



To the person desirous of having a Topiary garden 

 there are two courses open. The first is, he can either 

 train and shape his own trees, or else he can purchase 

 from one or other of the nurserymen who make clipped 

 yews a speciality, a ready-made collection. Trees that 

 are clipped into all manner of shapes can now be pur- 

 chased from some of the nurserymen either at home 



