You Can Still Cultivate a Topiary with Limited Garden Space in Houston
It’s easy to think of topiaries as large pieces of art lining up grand estates. But these garden sculptures don’t always mean towering, pillar-like cones or artful animals that take up sprawling lawns.
You don’t need half an acre of land to cultivate your own topiary collection in Houston. In fact, if it suits you, you don’t even need a yard at all.
Just find a bare wall
Take a good look at your front lawn or backyard. Sure, there might not be room for a manicured hedge or a sculpted, stand-alone shrub, but do you have a fence or bare wall?
You can grow climbing shrubs along it. Varieties like the firethorn (pyracantha coccinea) are relatively easy to grow. Over time, you can trim and prune it, much like a free-standing topiary, to run a variety of patterns along your wall. You can start simply with clean-cut lines and freeform shapes, or aim for archways over your windows and doors.
The firethorn, whose white summer flowers give way to red berries in the fall, is only one beginner’s option. If red berries aren’t your preferred garden accent, the flowering quince, Californian lilac, silk-tassel bush, and flannel bush are also wall shrubs you can work with.
Select shrubs for small spaces
Let’s say you do have a small plot to work with. What kinds of topiaries can you grow?
Bay, boxwood, and yew are common topiary shrubs, favored for their manageability and size. If you get started on bay, you could also look into cultivating more topiarized herbs, like myrtle, rosemary, and sage. These will not take up a lot of space – herbs can start from just a three-inch plot!
If you’ve never grown herbs before, inform the Houston garden center you’re purchasing them from, so you can get suitable cuttings for your skill level. Make sure to say you want to turn them into topiaries!
Put a topiary inside your house
Ultimately, when you truly have no extra garden space, you can always consider buying decorative potted topiaries. You can place these on your porch, foyer, living room, stairway, and practically anywhere else in your house.
Regardless if you choose to have topiaries along your wall, in tiny herb plots, or as interior design pieces, make sure you discuss your options with your trusted Houston garden center.
Sources
Plant a Wall of Berries, HGTV.com
Herb Topiaries, MotherEarthLiving.com
Decorative Potted Topiary Shrubs, SFGate.com