Ladew Topiary Garden in Monkton, Maryland, is a wonderful public garden with a lot to offer, but most notably, an astonishing collection of topiary. Topiary is the art of pruning shrubs and other plants into creative shapes. The principle is pretty simple: decide what shape you want, and then prune away any part of the shrub that isn’t growing into that shape. As long as you choose a shrub that can take frequent shearing, and you have the time to keep up with all that trimming, you can create almost anything you can imagine. Boxwood (Buxus spp., Zones 5–8) and yew (Taxus baccata, Zones 5–7) are classic choices. Less traditionally, you can also use vining plants or even succulents grown over a wire frame to create a topiary. (Learn how to make a succulent topiary here.)

Abstract shapes are very traditional for topiary. These shrubs remind me of abstract interpretations of chess pieces. To maintain thick, green growth right to the bottom of the topiary, the bottoms of the shape need to be wider than the top so that the top growth doesn’t shade out the bottom.

Or you can create whole scenes and pictures with topiary! Here a hunter on horseback and four hounds race over a perfect hedge.

Regular clipping is key to perfect-looking topiary. Heavy equipment makes it easier for the gardeners at Ladew to trim their enormous topiary structures. For home gardeners, keeping your topiary short enough to be easily trimmed makes life much easier.

Do leash laws apply to topiary dogs? Well, better safe than sorry!

As beautiful and iconic as the topiary at Ladew are, there is a lot more to the gardens, like these incredible blue waterlilies.

Have you ever experimented with topiary in your garden? Please send some pictures to the Garden Photo of the Day! We’d love to see them.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

If you want to send photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box that is just fine.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

You don’t have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Scotts Cordless Grass-Shear/Shrub-Trimmer Combo

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

With a built-in 7.2-volt lithium-ion battery, this little guy weighs less than 2 lb. and can zip through all your minor pruning tasks quickly and easily.
- 13.5 x 3 x 5 inches
- Uses a 7.2-Volt 2Ah high-capacity built-in lithium-ion battery; Includes a fast charger

Buy at Amazon

DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

You can fit a variety of blades to this saw to cut fallen branches or prune larger limbs from trees in a pinch. It’s fast, tough, easy to use, and extremely versatile.
- 18.31 x 6.13 x 4 inches
- 1-1/8-inch stroke length
- Variable speed trigger with 0-3000 spm

Buy at Amazon

The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

The Nature of Oaks reveals what is going on in oak trees month by month, highlighting the seasonal cycles of life, death, and renewal. From woodpeckers who collect and store hundreds of acorns for sustenance to the beauty of jewel caterpillars, Doug Tallamy illuminates and celebrates the wonders that occur right in our own backyards. He also shares practical advice about how to plant and care for an oak, along with information about the best oak species for your area.

Buy at Amazon