Top alternatives to box for clipping into shapes and simple topiary (plus 3 to avoid!)

[@marianrussom631]

W O W !!!!! Evergreens are beautiful!!! You don't have to have flowers to have a breath taking awesome garden!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome

[@paulinewqi]

It's unbelievable!!...past mid October, this garden in Kent has all the vibrant shades of green....kudos to the Gardeners, especially JimTreby... Thanks for sharing

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you

[@fudge6509]

Alexandra, you are always spot on with your videos! You're amazing and I'm really enjoying my gardening with you as I learn so much, thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much!

[@alexandros1973]

Alexandra and Jim, thank you 🙏 for this very imformative and very well presented video.

[@Thorml]

I've watched this video so many times for reference. Informative and a good looking garden.

[@itsmewende]

Absolutely love that idea at the end with the tall hedge, the contrasting greens are just lovely. The head gardener had all round excellent tips, not to mention the excellent questions. Also...Thanks for putting together the playlist.!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@meredith3588]

I've never planted too many plants that give structure but I can see their benefit in this garden. Guess I need to see where I can add some in my yard.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I came away from this garden wanting to change my own!

[@skaro85]

Jim certainly knows he's stuff! Excellent video! 😁 👍

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@yuliiavideo]

Fantastic shrubs! I have never seen such beautiful ones despite my living in a very beautiful city

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@canadian-gardening-6A]

Thank you Alexandra! I only have 1 topiary so far. It was suppose to be a chicken, but it turned out to be more like a fluffy duck. :)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Ducks are rather nice looking, though...

[@YalisCommunity]

This Garden is magnificent! Specially the hedge of Cypress leylandii (darker green) and Thuja occidentalis (paler green). I have always love the thuja so lets see if I get to do such a lovely hedge! Thanks for sharing!

[@maricelaaguirre8486]

Wow! Wow! Beautiful garden. Great tips and ideas for evergreen. Looks beautiful all year long. I loved it 😍

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much 🙂

[@RoseMary-vs3io]

This is just what I needed, I am seriously contemplating much more topiary in my garden, so thank you Alexandra👌

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@mollie3244]

He didn't mention sarcococca, sweet box. I have a few little balls and a lovely little hedge outside my back door. I find it great to clip and flowers are forming now so I'll have a lovely sent all around the garden when they come out. I'd swap them for box anyday of the week.

[@pansepot1490]

Perhaps he didn’t mention it because it’s suitable only for small topiary. I bought a plant two years ago (for the scent) and it has only grown very few lanky twigs. I guess it would take me ten years to make a ball out of it. 😄 Anyway thanks for sharing, l will try clipping it to see if it bushes out and gets a better shape. Cheers!

[@mollie3244]

@@pansepot1490 Do, I found my sister wandering around the garden last year looking for the source of the scent. She was looking for big flowers. Kept walking past the little hedge. Google says it grows to 2 metres but mine are much smaller. Mind you I clip them.;)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting suggestion.

[@twotales7337]

I'm at the start of the planning phase for my new medium sized garden and I'm looking to use a lot of evergreens, so this video is most welcome. Thanks as always.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ytubechannel997]

Really enjoyed this video Alexandra. Learned lots and it was nice to see this garden.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@hannagrace3302]

Loved the information in this video. Thank you for the work you have put into your interviews.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cathybranly1839]

The tour was beautiful. Thank you for the information. I really love the formality and structure of topiary evergreens and will be adding more to my garden.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you - I thought this garden was very special.

[@marnies.8533]

Alexandra, your videos are brilliant, thank you for putting them together. I'm an Aussie recently transported to England to live and I've bought a half acre garden which is a blank canvas, and I know so very little about English gardening so I consult you regularly. thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, that's lovely to hear.

[@michellebeissel3937]

Jim Treby's information is very much appreciated. Alexandra's listing of what plant is shown when is just as appreciated. Thank you both! Japanese hollies which were planted three years ago in our southwest France garden (zone 8a) are barely alive, except the one specimen in a pot which is still not doing that great and is mostly yellow. As upright rosemary does well chez nous, I am in the process of training two plants into lollipops. The ivy that has grown up a pergola has bushed out and is presently chock full of bird-loving winter fruit gets clipped into various rounded shapes with an extension loper; that's is what I do with any ivy that has run out of vertical surface. I will take up the suggestion of another commenter and get some fragrant sarcocca. I love that hedge comprised of alternating dark and light green blocks!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, and interesting to know that the Japanese holly isn't doing well for you either.

[@3daysdarkness938]

So glad I found this video--so important! Thank you, Alexandra!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gemmalander1853]

Fab video, the most informative I’ve found.

[@laura.redfield]

Interesting information. Thanks for sharing! :) Here in South Texas (Zone 8b-9), I use dwarf yaupon holly, lorapetalum, and cenizo (aka Texas sage) for evergreen structure and hedges. They do much better with the heat, blazing sun, drought, and deer than some of the more traditional plant options.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting!

[@coolwater55]

An wonderful, informative video! Thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@HortiHugo]

Thoroughly good watch and some great advice. Interesting to hear about the vigorous roots of Pittosporum and really liked the Viburnum tinus lollipops. All the best, Hugh 😊👍🏼🌿

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! Hope you're all well on your side of the Irish sea.

[@ginadavis174]

Thank you very much for this very informative video! This is so useful!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@trevorlanghm3465]

Great program- subsequent info very useful reference. Saves me the expense of purchasing Box plants due to the prevalence of unwanted guest in my garden - going for the recommended substitute. Cheers

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@GrannysGarden]

Thanks for sharing Alexandra. Great tour of this topiary haven and great advice. Hopefully in spring I will introduce a couple of topiaries into my garden. I do like tight topiaries like Box but blight is a real problem

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It is - I have a few which are fine so far, but every year the blight/caterpillar creeps nearer.

[@barbll000]

Loved this video. I've been busy the last two years putting in evergreens and boxwood to create the winter interest that my garden needs. I don't believe we have the blight or caterpillar here in Canada. Love your floral jacket!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! I hope you stay free of the blight and caterpillar, with plants travelling all over the world, so do pests.

[@great-garden-watch]

Exactly the video I needed at exactly the right time!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@kaholiachumi8737]

Love your plants. Thanks for the video

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you like them!

[@kitchenwithfarzanaamin2835]

Very very beautiful video friend

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you very much!

[@kitchenwithfarzanaamin2835]

Welcome my sweet friend

[@outoftownr3906]

Hello Alexandra.I agree about the Ilex Crenata.We planted 40 metres of it as a low hedge around a border 3 years ago and it’s never really done much.Viburnum Tinus has an unpleasant aroma when trimmed & wouldn’t recommend it near seating areas.Thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you for that tip!

[@elsagrace3893]

The way he pronounces Euonymus is adorable. Nice looking intelligent man. Where can I get one?

[@coolwater55]

Yes, to be darned with the hedges and shrubs, the man is the thing!

[@elsagrace3893]

@@coolwater55 both the hedges and shrubs and the man are great.

[@Cassieskins21]

@@CS88754 😂

[@nancylezama6277]

😂

[@Nothingbutthevoid1]

I said “ oh my!! The plants are wonderful, and the head gardener is very handsome ! What win with my morning coffee! “

[@My_slow_story]

I have a great success in pruning Hebe to dense evergreen balls.. perhaps not great for upright shapes but I dont have to worry about pests or weather; plus added bonus of flush of flowers once a year.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That's a good suggestion.

[@colinstreeter426]

In the US, ilex crenata convexa is so widely available it's called "Redneck Boxwood"! I've never sneered at it meself. Yellowing leaves that Jim mentions might be linked to a limy soil: it is an Ilex, after all.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting

[@ТетянаТетяна-с3й]

Дякую за відео.дуже цікаві і інформативні.

[@arceliacody5151]

So beautiful!!

[@juliabinford6500]

I would not have thought to pair Leyland cypress with another type of evergreen to form such an interesting hedge. If I only had the space for that!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It did look very stylish.

[@vjraghavan]

Alexandra, your videos are very informative, as always! Question - What are the white flowers in the background at 6:38 ?

[@pansepot1490]

I lost a small box hedge to the caterpillar. 😢 Now I am more careful with my remaining big box cube. Keep an eye on it and spray it. Usually once in late spring is sufficient. Being a caterpillar bio insecticide based on bacillus t. is effective. I haven’t seen box blight in my area but since I spray for the caterpillar I add some copper oxide as preventative. Copper is not a synthetic pesticide and it’s used in organic agriculture. I agree with reducing intervention as much as possible and in fact I prefer not to spray but when I have an established plant in my garden, a disease is threatening its very life and the remedy is relatively simple I use it.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That sounds like a good idea.

[@glendagai]

Wow! So informative!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@selfiopath1982]

Very helpful video. Five years ago I planted three Cypress Leylandii in the back of my rose border. I know it sounds like a crazy thing to do, but I've clipped them into a poodle-like topiary and been keeping them like this at the height of 110 cm (3.6 feet) each with biannual pruning. I don't know how long they will hang on with such restrictive pruning, so I'm keen on trying English Yew and Viburnum Tinus. Thank you so much for great advice. p.s. I'm gardening in zone 7.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you and that sounds like a good idea - I think if you really keep on top of the pruning, they should go on for years. It's when they get to grow too big because one year you don't have time - that's when it's difficult to get them back in shape again.

[@bomagardentools7456]

good video,very helpful

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you think so!

[@rachelhoward334]

More like this please, 😊💚

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I'll do my best! Thank you.

[@lilwilliams7277]

Great information, thank you 😊

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@paulinecrispin121]

I have recently bought a few Japanese holly balls to replace box. So far I have been happy with them in my garden.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting! Perhaps they are better in some climates/soils than others.

[@noga8974]

What about box honeysuckle, lonicera nitida?

[@sarahm257]

Does anyone know if the box moth caterpillars will attack other shrubs? I'm just removing 7 mature Box topiary specimens that have been decimated in weeks. I've just found one of the caterpillars on my privet lollipop! Is it just searching for more Box ( having run out of box leaves in my garden)?

[@belwynne1386]

Brilliant

[@harvindersinghuppal2162]

Hi Alexandra, another great video... i watched a bunny guinness video where she refererences evergreen oak from which she's created fantastic large lollypop shaped topiary. I wonder if you could help answer sa plant identification question on the 'Growing dahlias' video at 4:07 the name of the tall plant on the left with the red/magenta stems and green leavers with the grass like flowers. Looks very dramatic in a border. ....do you know the name? I jumped on the Salutation Gardens website however they seem to have gone into liquidation!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you. The tall plant with the red stems is an amaranth, but it was a self sown seedling, so it doesn't have a specific variety name. Yes, sadly the Salutation did go into liquidation, hopefully a new owner will open the gardens again. I think the evergreen oak that can be topiarised is holm oak - I have 2 topiarised trees in holm oak.

[@cambbrown6205]

Very helpful, thank you :-)

[@quicknumbercrunch8691]

Another useful episode. My favorite hedge shrub which here in France is called something like Orangier de Mexique, ( Mexican orange?) makes beaufiful flowers in late summer, the leaves smell like oranges all year, and it grows quickly, yet does not surpass two meters. Does it do well in UK gardens?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I've just looked it up and it is called Mock Orange here - Choisya ternata. A very good shrub.

[@quicknumbercrunch8691]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thank you. I suppose some might think it to open for a hedge, but I find it works.

[@teddybear9723]

2nd.maybe.I love ur channel

[@justinferguson9779]

A close look at the plants would have been helpful.

[@rosejohnson973]

Isn't yew poisonous to cattle?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, it's poisonous to horses and cattle, but quite bitter tasting so they tend not to eat it unless they don't have anything else.

[@danjackson7758]

if it's true that many of the round blobs /balls in japanese gardens are small leaved evergreen azaleas, how come azaleas didn't feature at all in your discussion?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

The rounded Azaleas in Japanese gardens are not as tight in form as these box and box alternatives. If you were to cut an azalea into too tight a ball or too geometric a shape, you would probably lose the flowers, which are prized in both Japanese and Western gardens, so it's more suitable to softly rounded or more natural forms. Also azaleas are best in acid soil, so they wouldn't be a suitable alternative for many gardens.

[@mariedeyo7399]

The boxballs always look nice but it is not my Cup of tee. In the new garden I have boxballs, lots of them, some are almost 1,50 m tall. I dont like them. Thats to tall for my taste and I dont like the smell of Box. I would like something sweet smelling better. No one likes cat pipi smell near the Patio. Nice Video again, thank you Alexandra. 🙂👍

[@elsagrace3893]

Why do you have plants you don’t like? That’s weird. Maybe so you can complain because you are a chronic complainer?

[@elsagrace3893]

My box doesn’t smell like cat pee. You could wash you box once in a while you know with soap. 😂

[@mariedeyo7399]

@@elsagrace3893 lol😁 Box smells like cat pee Monty when its in blum but often even without blum. I use to work as a florist and when we got a shipment of Box, it would smell like that when we open the box. Box in box 😁

[@mariedeyo7399]

How did monty get in there???? 🙄 ... german Mobiles Weite hatte they like.

[@mariedeyo7399]

@@elsagrace3893 nooooo... it is a rent house with garden and some Evergreens habe been plantet from former owners. And not everybody likes the same or knows how and where to plant things. Like not to plant a magnolia right next to the house in a shady spud. I can do lots but not rip everything out and some of the Box are big .. 1,5m - 2m by 1m - 1,5 m. They can not be dug up that easy. I make doo and work around. 😼

[@kunalkissu3827]

I am also made top design topiry...

[@littlecicek]

Three ads four minutes in?!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Oh, dear, I'm sorry, I don't have any control over the ads, but I will ask KZbin as that does seem a lot.

[@Jack9788]

And Lonicera

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, that's a lovely plant.

[@JIMMYJREVIEWS_thaiM-A-F-I-A]

ball LARGE ball’s !

[@ainsygray]

Great interviewing asked every question I wanted asked and more , great channel just discovering it learning a lot to help me along in my own selection of viable plant stock and how to prune , Instagram ainsworth.Joshua

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you

[@Poppycat2024]

EuOnymous! Not Eunonymous!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Indeed