In previous chapters I have dealt almost entirely with the general formation of a Topiary garden; the soils and manures that are most suitable for the cultivation and welfare of the yew; and I tried to give my readers some idea of the general treatment required in the management of both old and young trees. In this chapter it is my intention to explain, as clearly as possible, the yearly management of a Topiary garden.

The general routine of work in the Formal or Dutch garden is very much the same as in any other garden, with, of course, the exception of the clipping and training of the trees. That in itself adds a very great amount of extra labour to the general work. But fortunately it is work that requires to be done at the slackest time of the year for gardening, viz., the autumn.

If the garden is an old established one, the arranging and planting of the different beds will have been carried out many years previous, very possibly at the time the trees were planted, at the foundation of the garden, although there is no doubt they will have been subject to many alterations during the years that have elapsed since the time when the garden was first formed. But in this chapter it is with the planting and arranging of the various flowering plants in the beds of a garden that has been laid out on the principle recommended in an earlier chapter of this work—on the formation of the Topiary garden—that I intend chiefly to deal with.

The planting of the beds and their various contents is in the Topiary garden a very important part of the work, and one that requires both a great amount of skill and forethought, as to a great extent on the arranging of the various kinds of flowering plants in the different beds will depend the future beauty of the garden. Of course I do not mean to imply that the arrangement of the various beds is of as much importance as the planting of the trees, as they differ in this respect so far, that once the trees in a Topiary garden are planted, they should under no circumstances whatever be altered; but in the case of the beds, they may be subject to many alterations, as circumstances may occur. The yew by itself is not a very bright or attractive tree, but when you see it planted in the Topiary garden and clipped into all kinds of unique shapes and figures, and all the available space in the beds is utilised for the purpose of massing either herbaceous or bedding plants, the effect is extremely beautiful; it is then that one sees a garden with a charm and beauty about it that is very seldom if ever met with in the more modern garden.

It is quite evident that, in most of the old formal gardens, glass accommodation has never to any great extent been considered necessary. Yet there is nothing of more importance to the gardener in charge of a large Topiary garden than plenty of glass accommodation for storing the various bedding plants during winter and spring. In former years both the persons who owned the Topiary gardens, and the gardeners as well, seem to have depended to a great extent on the different varieties of annuals for the embellishment of their gardens. But annuals in a garden such as the one I am speaking of, never have the same effect among the yews as the more bright and showy bedding plants. I quite agree with a great many people in their contention that glass structures are altogether out of place in the Topiary garden. But provision should be made for them in some way or other, and as a rule some place can be found for the erection of a few houses without clashing with the other features of the garden.

If the garden has been laid out on a large scale, and contains a quantity of large beds, as regards the work of arranging and deciding what each bed is to be planted with, the person who is responsible will have to be guided by circumstances to a certain extent according to the accommodation that is already at hand, or is to be provided for the raising of bedding plants.

In every garden, and especially in the Topiary garden, the beds should be so arranged that they will yield as far as possible a continual show of bloom for as many months of the year as flowers will bloom in the garden. A continual supply of bloom for the longest possible time is the principal object to be aimed at. Of course in the arrangement of the beds it will be necessary to plant some of them with herbaceous plants; others may be planted with roses; as both roses and herbaceous plants look well in any garden. But in the using of perennial plants of any kind, I would strongly recommend that they should be planted more in the background and in large borders, instead of in the more important beds in the garden. These last should be reserved for bedding plants, as no matter whether roses, or any other kind of plants, be used, the same brilliant and desirable effect can never be obtained as is to be had from the more showy and more easily massed bedding plants. In the planting of herbaceous or any variety of plants, exceptional care should be taken to keep the plants far enough away from the trees, so as to avoid all injurious effects from the summer’s growth coming in contact with the yews. If the practice of planting close up to the trees is followed, on purpose to avoid bare patches in the borders, the result will be disastrous to the more important part of the garden, viz., the Topiary work. But as bare patches are always unsightly in the border, they should be avoided as far as possible by planting the very dwarf growing herbaceous plants in close proximity to the trees. It is a plan that can very well be followed in perennial planting, but it is more difficult to manage in the more important work of bedding out for the summer months, especially if large and tall growing plants are extensively used.

If it should happen, as I remarked before in this chapter, that the glass accommodation is limited, it is of particular importance that the utmost use be made of what there is at hand for the storing and propagating of bedding plants, more especially if the requirements of the place are such as to make an autumn display of bloom one of the most important features in the garden. If such is the case, it will be necessary when the bedding season arrives, to be careful that only such plants are used as will be at their best in the autumn, more especially in the most important beds. No attempt whatever should be made at carpet bedding; it is a style of bedding that has very little to recommend it at any time and certainly none in the Topiary garden; for one reason it is much too stiff for a garden where there are a great many clipped yews. Of course in a new garden that has been recently laid out and where both the trees and the box edging are in a small state, the system of carpet bedding may be practised by those who wish to entirely discard Nature from their gardens. But if the garden is an old one, full of old specimen yews, the larger and taller growing the bedding plants are that are used for bedding out purposes, the better. I will name a few of the bedding plants that are extensively used in the gardens here at Levens; but of course, as is well known, the gardens here are among the oldest examples of Topiary work in England. There are some varieties of bedding plants that are far more effective than others when planted among yews, and among the most suitable, there is nothing that has more effect than the brilliant scarlet Lobelia cardinalis and its varieties. Some objection may perhaps be taken to the plant by some people, but when planted in large masses among the sombre yews in a Topiary garden, I have not the slightest hesitation in saying it has no equal: when growing in large masses with a background of green yew and the sun shining on the dark foliage and brilliant scarlet flowers, the effect is really beautiful. Perhaps the only drawback to the various varieties of Lobelia cardinalis is the difficulty experienced by some in keeping it over winter; but if instead of following the old system of partly drying it off in winter, directly it is lifted out of the beds, one places it in a frame or greenhouse with a gentle heat and gives it a fair amount of water, thus encouraging it to start into growth at once, the difficulty will to a very great extent be done away with. Another favourite plant here, and one that is greatly used for bedding out purposes in the Topiary garden, is the beautiful old-fashioned plant Salvia patens. Like the scarlet lobelias, Salvia patens should be largely grown in every garden where there are a lot of yews. The brilliant blue of the flowers against the dark green of the yew trees has a very striking effect indeed, either when planted in masses by itself or mixed in the beds along with the scarlet lobelia or the tall yellow Calceolarias amplexicaulis. But the foliage of the Salvia patens has not the same showy appearance as that of the Lobelia cardinalis, but this is a point that can be overlooked, as the brilliant blue of the flowers fully compensates one for the lack of beauty in the plant, and it rarely happens among the general stock of bedding plants that one can find plants with foliage and flowers equally effective. But in my opinion, if a fault is to be found with the Salvia patens as a bedding plant, it is its inability to withstand wet weather. Through that cause it is very often denuded of its flowers, but it very soon revives with a few bright days. Among other plants that are extremely useful for bedding purposes in the Topiary garden are the taller growing varieties of fuschias that are hardy enough to stand planting out in the flower garden, and more especially if the yews are old and large; fuschias planted either in clumps or massed alone in large beds with a groundwork of violas, or some other suitable plants, will give a very striking effect among yews, and they have the additional advantage of giving a good show of bloom during a mild autumn long after the majority of bedding plants have finished flowering, which is a quality that ought to recommend them in any garden as well as the Topiary one. In most gardens, variety of plants is considered a necessity in the work of bedding out, and space will not permit me to point out the special qualities of each and every different variety of plant that may be used in the embellishment of a Topiary garden, but I will give the names of a few that I have found most suitable and effective for bedding out in a garden where the yew tree is extensively grown. The different types of antirrhinums, both dwarf and tall growing varieties, calceolarias, cannas, begonias, heliotropes, yellow and white marguerites, gladioli, and the various varieties of geraniums. Geraniums, and more especially the ivy leaved varieties, should be given a place in the garden if beds that are suitable for them blooming well can be found for them. Grown as pyramids or trained over a wire framework three or four feet high, the effect is very pretty.

In all the bedding arrangements of a Topiary garden, a natural appearance is a thing that should be studied 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, and always have been, one of the principal features of the formal garden, and no amount of labour and care should be considered wasted in keeping them in good condition. Grass paths require far more labour and attention in keeping them in proper order than those that are composed of some hard substratum, especially if there is a considerable amount of traffic on them; if such is the case, it will be necessary to go over them every spring and re-turf places that have got worn out, afterwards well rolling them; then during the summer and autumn months they will require constant attention in the way of mowing and in keeping the edges well clipped so as to maintain a clean and tidy appearance.

In the Topiary garden it should always be remembered that everything should be kept in as trim and formal a condition as possible, with the exception of the different varieties of plants or shrubs that have been planted for the purpose of giving colour to the garden; amongst those, Nature should as far as is consistent be encouraged; but the walks, beds and borders, and everything else in the garden should be made to present as formal an appearance as possible. If the garden is a formal one, let as much as possible in it be made to have a formal appearance.

In writing on the Topiary garden, I have perhaps made it appear to some of those who may read it as hideously unnatural, and I am aware there are plenty who maintain that it is a style of gardening that has nothing to recommend or encourage about it. But those who think that the formal garden is without its charm make a very great mistake, as in every old world garden there is a charm that belongs to it only. In the woods and the parks let us by all means study and cultivate Nature as far as possible; but in the gardens we should have the trees to present as neat and formal an appearance as possible, a thing that can only be had by the aid of constant clipping or pruning.

For a great many years past, in this country at least, the Topiary garden has been to a very large extent a thing that belongs to other ages; especially does this apply to the formation of new gardens; but there is not wanting evidence at the present day that it is again coming into favour, and deservedly so. The Topiary garden has its drawbacks, principally on account of the great number of years it takes to bring it to perfection and the amount of extra labour that requires to be spent over the clipping at various periods of the year. There is one thing to remember about the Topiary garden, it is all work.

Perhaps at the present time Topiary gardening is a subject of far greater interest to rich men in America than it is over here, and as gardening might practically be said to be in its infancy in that great country, there is hardly any reason why the art of Topiary work may not have a great future in store for it in America.