76 THE BOOK OF TOPIARY 



and as much as possible sought. Always remember 

 that in the practice of clipping and training yews into 

 all kinds of shapes, Nature is to a very great extent 

 discarded, therefore there is all the more reason why it 

 should be as much as possible encouraged among the 

 plants in the flower garden ; all stiffness should be 

 avoided and as little tying as possible done ; though of 

 course a certain amount of tying will be necessary to 

 keep the wind and storm from breaking the plants, unless, 

 indeed, the garden is a sheltered one. 



There is another point that should be aimed at in the 

 old formal garden, and that is, to always keep the 

 garden well supplied with old-fashioned flowers. I 

 certainly do not mean it to be understood that none of 

 the new and beautiful varieties of the different species 

 of garden plants that are being introduced every year 

 should not be given a place in the garden, but what I 

 want to be understood is this, that there should not be 

 a wholesale clearing out of the old favourites to make 

 room for the new ones. 



As I pointed out before, the general routine of work 

 in the Topiary garden is, with the exception of the 

 clipping and training part of the work, practically the 

 same as in any other garden. If there is a kitchen 

 garden, a necessity that almost every garden, whether 

 Topiary or otherwise, is almost certain to have attached 

 to it, the work of looking after and attending to the 

 various kinds of vegetables will have to be seen to, 

 and a trim and tidy appearance kept in it, more especially 

 if it is combined with the Topiary garden. 



If the garden has been laid out on the principle 

 recommended in the chapter dealing with the Formation 

 of a Topiary Garden, and the paths in the flower garden 

 and grounds are composed principally of grass, a fair 

 amount of care and attention will have to be given to 

 them to keep them in proper order. Grass paths are, 



