176 
AMERICAN AGrRTOII RTERTST. 
[JtTNE, 
Topiary Work in Gardening. 
It is interesting to note the revolutions going 
on in the art of gardening. Here, as in fashion¬ 
able life generally, customs come and go, only to 
be viewed and pass away again. We find an 
illustration of this in the style of ornamental 
gardening called “topiary-work,” so styled from 
the Latin word topiarius, meaning garden-paint¬ 
ing, vegetable sculpture, etc. That is, the train¬ 
ing and cutting of trees and shrubs in various or¬ 
namental and fanciful forms. Arbor Vitae hetlg 
es, cut to regular form, are familiar examples. 
This art has been in vogue at different times 
from an early period. The Romans were very 
fond of it. Indeed, the word topiarius came at 
length to mean, with them, a gardener, because 
so much time and skill were devoted to this 
branch of horticulture. In Girardin’s histor¬ 
ical essay on ancient gardening, we find many 
allusions to this taste of the polished Romans. 
For example, in describing a particular country 
seat, he says: “ The terrace in front of the por¬ 
tico descended to the Mwn covered with a spe¬ 
cies of moss, and adorned with figures of animals 
cut out in box-trees answering alternately to 
one another. This lawn was again surrounded 
by a walk enclosed with tonsile evergreens, 
sheared into a variety of forms. Beyond this 
was a place for exercise, of a circular form, orna¬ 
mented in the middle with box-trees, sheared as 
before into numerous figures, together with a 
plantation of shrubs kept low by clipping. * 
* * * * Here again, the internal walks 
were bordered with rose-trees, and were in a 
winding direction, which, however, terminated 
in a straight path, which again branched into a 
variety of others, separated from one another by 
box-hedges, and these, to the great satisfaction 
of the owner, were sheared into a variety of 
shapes and letters, some expressing the name 
of the master others that of the artificer, while 
small obelisks were placed here and there, inter¬ 
mixed with fruit trees.” [See, also, Loudon’s 
Encyclopedia of Gardening, at page 17.] 
In the times of Henry the Eighth and Eliza¬ 
beth, this style of gardening was all the rage. 
Mr. Downing say -: " ia these gardens, nature 
was tamed and subdued, or as some critics will 
have it, tortured into every shape which the in¬ 
genuity of the gardener could suggest; and such 
kinds of vegetation as bore the shears most pa¬ 
tiently, and when carefully trimmed, assumed 
gradually the appearance of verdant statues, 
pyramids, crowing cocks, and 
rampant lions, were the es¬ 
pecial favorites of the gar¬ 
deners of the old school.” 
The garden of the Vatican 
at Rome has now the name 
of the reigning pope, the 
?date of his election, etc., cut 
out in box. The Dutch and 
the French have for centu¬ 
ries shown a strong partiality for, and indulged 
in this formal and artificial style of gardening. 
During the 17th and 18th centuries, in Eng¬ 
land this practice was carried to its bight, even 
to absurdity. The poets and wits of the country 
leveled their shafts at it, and with good effect. 
Here is a description of a topiary garden: 
Fig. 2. 
“ There, likewise, mote be seen on every side 
The shapely box, of all its branching pride 
Ungently shorne, and with preposterous skill, 
To various beasts, and birds o.f sundry quill 
Transformed, and human shapes of monstrous size. 
****** 
Also, other wonders of the sportive shears, 
Fair Nature mis-adorning, there were found ; 
Globes, spiral columns, pyramids and piers 
With spouting urns and budding statues crowned, 
And horizontal dials on the ground, 
In living box, by cunning artists traced , 
And galleys trim, on no long voyage bound, 
But by their roots there ever anchor’d fast.” 
The satire of Pope was especially severe, and his 
assaults were followed up by those of other wits. 
“ Adam and Eve in Yew,” the “ Green Dragon 
in Box,” “ Noah’s Ark in Holly,” and the “ Old 
Maid of Honor in Wormwood,” withered away 
before these scorching blasts, and the natural 
style, the English style, par excellence , became all 
the vogue. Terraces were leveled, strait walks 
were made crooked, geometrical flower beds 
were molded into round, oval, serpentine, and all 
sorts of fanciful shapes; statues and vases and 
nearly all artificial adornments were proscribed. 
But the Dutcli, with their usual pertinacity, 
and the French, with their fondness for art, have 
retained to this day, many of the features of the 
ancient mode. Near Paris, and in the villas of 
Amsterdam, one sees verdant colonnades, (see 
Fig. 1,) arches, walls, and pyramids in all their 
glory. It is plain, too, that the style is being re¬ 
vived in England, and in some parts of our own 
country. Its peculiarities are not now allowed 
to appear in the most conspicuous parts of one’s 
ornamental grounds, but rather in side scenes, 
and as episodes and matters of curiosity. 
Figures 2, 3,4, and 5, represent topiary work 
in the grounds of H. Hunnewell,Esq., West Need 
ham, Mass. Some specimens are formed from th 
native arbor -vita;, others from the hemlock, the 
black and white spruces, 
and the white pine. All 
kinds of trees may be 
sheared into these fantastic 
shapes, but the slow grow¬ 
ing sorts and those of dense 
habit yield the best results. 
. ... _Deciduous trees make 
^*Ste^^-s^i@^pl e asant scenes in Summer, 
Fig. 3. but evergreens are on the 
whole preferable, being 
sources of enjoyment throughout the entire year. 
Many persons rail at this style of gardening, 
because it is artificial. Artificial indeed, but is 
not nearly all gardening so ? Away with your 
