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Welcome to our Head Gardener’s Journal

In this monthly column, we will share technical aspects of our work and also keep you up to date about ongoing projects. If there is any topic you might want to hear more about, please ask during your next visit!

Topiary Clipping

While all angular hedges at Morton Hall consist of either yew, hornbeam or beech, we use box for topiary. There are individual balls or cones as well as clouds. We particularly like our box ‘families’ which mark the transition between the rectangular South Garden borders and the circular area under our ancient horse chestnut.

The box topiary is clipped at the end of May and, in years of particularly robust growth, again in October. The largest cones which lend interest to the South Garden borders in the winter, are clipped with a hedge cutter. More complex shapes are clipped using hand shears.

Hedge cutter and shears used for topiary clipping
Box cones in South Garden borders
Box clouds along the potting shed
Clipping of box ‘families’

All box plants are fed with Vitax Q4 in the spring.