“There is a tendency to restore some of the screens which formed so characteristic a feature of the Dutch style, with a view to obtain a greater degree of privacy, and more shelter for both visitors and plants. With this restoration of sheltering hedges and verdant belts has evidently come a desire for examples of Topiary art, and already there are several modern gardens where they are to be found firmly established.”—George Gordon, V.M.H.

“Topiary Work fell into disrepute in the nineteenth century, owing to the persistence with which the more natural styles of gardening came to the front, but even now this phase of ‘gardening’ exercises a considerable fascination upon a large section of the public; witness the interest excited of late years by the exhibits of trimmed trees which have appeared at the London shows.”—Walter P. Wright.

Notwithstanding the wonderful alteration and improvement that have taken place in British gardens since Kent began to make a clearance of Topiary work, several notable collections survived the general slaughter and these are to-day among the most interesting of the varied forms of gardening seen in the country. The gardens at Levens Hall and at Elvaston Castle may be especially particularised in this connection, but for the moment we will deal with the revival rather than the survival of the art.

During the past twenty years the practice of including at least a few specimens of clipped trees in any new garden of pretensions has been steadily growing, and within the last ten years several Topiary gardens of considerable extent have been laid out and planted. These are chiefly in the large establishments of the wealthy patrons of horticulture, and they are so situated that they are in harmony with formal surroundings, or disposed where they form a distinct item of horticultural interest and do not in any way mar the more natural beauties of adjacent subjects.

Precisely why there has been a revival of this old art I am not prepared to say. It must suffice that there is such a revival, and a very distinct one, as any one who visits gardens and exhibitions and nurseries frequently will readily discover. At the leading London and provincial exhibitions two old established firms of nurserymen have frequently and extensively exhibited examples of Topiary; these are Messrs Wm. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, N., and Messrs J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, Sussex; and it may be safely asserted that if there were no taste or demand for clipped trees the respective proprietors would not incur the necessarily heavy expense of displaying this particular line of goods.

In the revival of Topiary in England no single person has taken a deeper interest than Mr Herbert J. Cutbush, and though his interest is confessedly a business one it is none the less worthy of mention. For many years Mr H. J. Cutbush has frequently visited Holland and he has travelled through and through the little country until he knows it, horticulturally, far better than even many eminent Dutch nurserymen do. He discovered that some of the best trained and best furnished specimens of sculptured yew and box were to be found in the farmhouse gardens, in small, almost unknown villages, far from the usual routes of tourists and business-men, and this led to still further explorations. During the first years of the revival Mr H. J. Cutbush crossed over to Holland nearly every week end making himself acquainted with the farmers, and with the few growers who regularly supplied the Dutch nursery trade. He got to know where examples were being steadily developed, securing options on these and purchasing all that were well advanced. As already hinted, the Dutch “Boomkmeckers,” or nurserymen who cultivate clipped trees as a special business, are by no means a numerous class, they chiefly reside in the Boskoop district.

Churches of box and peacocks of yew are not imported without the expenditure of a good deal of time and money, and obviously there is some risk in removing large examples. One big tree that for sixty years had been the chief ornament of a Dutch blacksmith’s garden was only purchased after a whole day spent in persuasion and the consumption of much Schiedam, and after the purchase was made another week was spent in lifting and packing and removing the tree to the London steamer.

There is a great variety of form in the Dutch clipped trees, but spires surmounted with birds seem to be among the most common and are as easy to produce as most. For these, and for the peacocks and the spiral or serpentine columns, yew is almost invariably used. Tables, with tops either circular, oval or square, may be had in box or yew, and the leg of the table may be plain or ornamented according to taste. The arm-chairs in box have quite a comfortable and inviting appearance. Sitting hens, geese, and ducks are common designs, and to protect the verdant poultry one may obtain equally verdant dogs, with or without kennels, but though the mastiff may be of quite ferocious mien he can be warranted not to bite; moreover he will require very little in the way of food and the noise he makes will disturb no one.

Churches are quite common designs among topiarists, but it is interesting to notice that seldom is there a doorway provided, and obviously if there is no congregation there will be no collection taken. The churchyard is also provided for, inasmuch as verdant tombstones and Latin crosses are grown in considerable numbers, and some of these would be vast improvements upon many of the ugly head-stones and other memorials of a more solid character that crowd our graveyards. Pyramids, mop-heads, and blunt cones are among the commonest designs; they do not call for the exercise of much ingenuity, but when these pyramidal trees are cut into several regular and well graded tiers their cost increases considerably. Another form of tree that naturally suggests itself to the Dutch grower, who all his life is used to water and boats, is that of a sailing ship, or barge; but these are not so easy to evolve from either box or yew, and they call for a good deal of training in addition to the cutting and clipping necessary to keep them shapely. Thin wires and a few light bamboo rods usually complete the training outfit necessary, but taking the whole range of topiarian design, training, in the sense of tying out, is not much practised.

Compared with the designs enumerated in the catalogue that Pope’s fancy created, the modern list of verdant sculptures is a very modest one. True we may have Jugs and Beakers, Wreaths as well as Crosses, and Swans as well as Peacocks, varying in price from three guineas to ten guineas each, but the moderns do not attempt to pourtray Adam and Eve, nor do they caricature the poets and statesmen of the age, in living box and yew.

Prices are governed chiefly by the size and age (height and density), and the design of the specimen. The yew tree being of slower growth than the box is, size for size, the most expensive of the two, and well furnished examples that have not exceeded marketable size vary in age from twenty to sixty years. Even when designed in box the birds are about ten or twelve years old, dogs twelve to fourteen years, and taller designs from fifteen to eighteen years. Some of the finer examples found in the country districts of Holland need to have their root system cut around one year, so that they may be safely lifted, transported to this country and transplanted in the following season.

It may very reasonably be asked, Where are to be seen the signs of this modern revival of Topiary, apart from horticultural exhibitions? To that I make answer by pointing to some establishments famous throughout the land for their gardens. At Ascott, Mr Leopold de Rothschild has a thoroughly well furnished and quite modern Topiary Garden, and those who are disposed to severely criticize the modern revival of an old garden art must bear in mind that Mr Rothschild’s gardens at Gunnersbury and Ascott have been and are still being referred to as fine examples of the most advanced and tasteful style of natural and adapted gardening. Another example is to be found at Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames, the residence of Mr Frank Crisp. This is a comparatively new garden but it contains much that is beautiful and a very great deal that is interesting, and its collection of clipped trees is not the least interesting feature of an establishment that also contains one of the best collections of alpine plants in the Southern Counties.

If these are not sufficient answer to the question, I hasten to add Witley Court, Stourport, the residence of Lady Dudley; and Danesfield, Marlow, the home of Mr R. W. Hudson. Besides these there are numerous other gardens throughout the land where Topiary, as a modern development, occupies no mean position, the extent of the collections of clipped trees being determined chiefly by the space at disposal.