62 THE BOOK OF TOPIARY 



shapes that are found in the Topiary gardens. The 

 adaptation of the tree for the work, and the ease with 

 which it can be twisted and bent into almost any 

 conceivable shape, places it far before any other for 

 the particular work I am describing. Therefore no 

 fear need be entertained that there will be any lack of 

 variety of shapes in the garden ; provided, of course, 

 that due care is exercised at the commencement of the 

 work, and that each individual tree is clipped and trained 

 to represent an entirely different design or figure, as 

 the case may be. As a matter of fact, in any garden 

 that contains, say, one hundred trees or even more, 

 out of all that number no two trees need be exactly 

 alike. Each can be made to represent an absolutely 

 different shape. Of course there is no reason, except 

 as a matter of taste, why each tree should be made to 

 represent quite a distinct shape from its neighbour. 

 It might be considered a better plan to plant the trees 

 in pairs, side by side, or on the opposite sides of a 

 walk, and then train and shape them into pairs re- 

 sembling each other in every way. Training in pairs 

 is an arrangement that might find favour with some, 

 and to a certain extent might be adopted with ad- 

 vantage in the garden, especially at the ends of paths. 

 If it is decided to clip some of the trees in pairs re- 

 sembling each other, they should be those that are 

 planted near the ends of the path, one on each side. 

 If there are two trees planted one on each side of 

 the path, the effect is better if they are clipped 

 into identically the same shape than would be the 

 case if they both represented something different. 

 But I think, on the whole, if there is anything to 

 choose between the two styles, the one tree one 

 shape style should have the preference, if only for 

 the sake of variety. 



In the matter of shapes, it is no use trying to lay 



