Topiary and ornamental training offers an increasingly popular and low-maintenace way of bringing character and structure to gardens. This work combines design for topiary with technical instruction, and contains a number of ideas and advice on how to grow, prune and train plants to make stylish garden features. It shows how to: sculpt topiary shapes, from single balls and pyramids to birds and abstracts; create patterns for knots and parterres; train fruit trees and climbers to make ornamental avenues and tunnels; and shape mock topiary for quick results.

About the Author

David Joyce is a celebrated garden writer and planting adviser who has lived and gardened in New Zealand, France and Hong Kong as well as in London and Suffolk. He has written many successful books on a range of gardening topics. As well as being a distinguished garden photographer -- he holds the Royal Horticultural Society's Gold Medal for photography -- Andrew Lawson is a painter, a passionate and knowledgeable gardener, and author of several successful gardening books. To visit Andrew Lawson's website click here

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2‘As Tyler, an African-American boy, and his family decorate their Christmas tree, he asks why all the angels are girls with golden hair and pink skin and never black boys. His parents don't know. He decides to go out every day after school and look for an angel like himself but has no success. Frustrated, he asks the mall Santa, whom he recognizes as the young art student who sometimes baby-sits for Tyler's family, but Carl doesn't know the answer. Then, after the family looks at the Nativity scene at the Christmas Eve service, Tyler wants to know why baby Jesus doesn't look Jewish. His parents can't answer that question, either. On Christmas morning, however, he finds a package with a beautifully carved angel that looks just like him. When he goes to thank Carl for the gift, he asks for a special favor. His Asian, Hispanic, and other friends all want special angels, too. The story is skillfully and sweetly written, and its point is well taken. Radiant watercolors painted in an idealized realistic technique and arranged in double-page spreads show an attractive family in a comfortable home. A thoughtful holiday selection with a theme that can be appreciated all year round.‘Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA