Topiary, Knots and Parterres

An essential addition is Topiary, Knots and Parterres, published today. Yes, it's about clipping greenery, but it's also a universal subject, covering the full gamut, as the author Caroline Foley points out, 'from the ridiculous to the sublime.'" * Gardenista * . Classics-not forgotten but in need of a re-boot-have been reissued, along with more recherche flights of fancy. "Topiary has a long history, exhaustively explored in this bookThe illustrations are superb. Every page brings a new wonder." -- Anna Pavord

She has been the editor of Topiarius, the pan-European journal of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, for 10 years.. Caroline Foley is the author of 10 books, including Of Cabbages and Kings: The History of Allotments

Finally there is a projection into the future, with the potential for topiary in industrial settings and amenity horticulture and its influence on land art.. Widening the story beyond the topiary of Europe and the west, there are chapters on the ancient art of Japanese topiary and on labyrinths and mazes from Minoa. After a brief survey of Roman topiary, this book moves on through the formal parterres of Renaissance Italy and the more elaborate broderies of the royal French gardens (copied in palace gardens throughout Europe), the complicated conceits of the Tudors and the geometry of the Dutch school. It takes a wry look at the 18th century, when many fine formal gardens were scrapped in favor of the English landscape school, which, in fact, was no less artificial. The second half of the book brings us up to date, taking a look at topiary as used by designers such as Jacques Wirtz, Piet Oudolf, Arne Maynard, Tom Stuart-Smith, Fernando Caruncho, as