The ANNOTICO Report

Topiary is the art  of sculpturing trees (usually juniper and spruce) into
most unnatural but beautiful forms, and started with a very functional
purpose, but became the basis for formal gardens. You see it all around you
but seldom notice it.

The Orange County Register, CA
By Maureen Gilmer
Do It Yourself Network
Saturday, May 14, 2005

Topiary is an art rooted in imitation and one-upmanship. Underneath it all
lies an unconscious desire to dominate nature by forcing plants into the
most unnatural forms.

The art is said to have been perfected by slaves who performed most
gardening tasks among the classical civilizations. As shears improved and
wealth increased, so did the interest in putting one's cash into sculptured
green status symbols.

Before room deodorants, cutting aromatic plants each day was the best way
to make a courtyard more fragrant. This masked the scent of the open sewer
flowing down the street just a few yards away.

Late in the 1990s the see one, do one, teach one, topiary tradition took
yet another leap. Plant hunter Cliff Comstock, traveling through Italy,
encountered unique topiary forms created by a renowned Italian nurseryman,
Edo Ansaloni.

Ansaloni's topiaries transcended the standard balls and spirals to combine
two or more shaped elements per tree. This double topiary approach really
impressed Comstock, who brought the new ideas to Monrovia Nursery Co.,  a
large American wholesale grower.

Monrovia,(a suburb of Los Angeles, CA)  already a major topiary producer,
liked the ideas and developed The Italianate Collection of new and more
complex forms.

Working primarily with junipers and, to a lesser extent, spruce, Monrovia's
horticultural craftsmen began production of 11 Italianate forms.

Each one is created with such graphic precision that you can buy matched
pairs or even more of one kind of form, knowing they will be consistent in
height and diameter. This is ideal for entry flanking and framing art and
linear repeat applications.

Named for famous Italian cities, these topiaries are nurtured for years to
develop the perfect form and size for instant impact. The topiary named
Pisa is a Spartan juniper that combines a rectangle and a spiral on a
single central stem.

Firenze pairs a rectangle and a teardrop. Milano sets a unique double flat
spiral atop a ball carved out of Torulosa juniper.

The Italianate topiaries are outstanding in pots to lend a fabulous
semiformal look to patios and courtyards, the porch or veranda.

Position out of hot prevailing winds and keep evenly moist for dense
foliage and even green coloring.

Clip often, but gently, to maintain the carefully crafted forms.

Special order at any quality garden center. The Italianate Collection lets
you enjoy living plants that will flatter your home in this sincerest form
of imitation.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/
2005/05/14/sections/home_garden/
hg_garden/article_517970.php