Living plants have been trimmed and trained into ornamental shapes since ancient Rome, but topiary has developed a new sense of whimsy over the past few years.
No longer limited to living shrubs and bushes that have been clipped into shapes, the term "topiary" now is used more broadly to describe sculptures that resemble ornamental plants or that make use of living materials to form their shape and decoration.
Many of the fanciful forms turning up on dining room tables and sideboards this holiday season suggest living topiary in shape, color, or texture but are constructed with materials ranging from cut branches and cinnamon sticks to costume jewelry. Many are easy to make and can be redecorated as the seasons change.
Eleanor Oster, of Whitin & Oster floral stylists in Roland Park, describes topiary these days as both "funky and absurd or serious and technically correct." She recently designed a ball topiary (a representation of a miniature tree formed by a ball atop a stem in a little pot) and decorated it with tin Christmas-ornament fish and a bait can complete with plastic worms. "If the customer gets tired of the ornaments," she jokes, "he can put them on his [Christmas] tree!"
Susan Kershaw, a Glencoe-based floral designer, branched out into topiary constructions a few years ago when she noticed her friends' enthusiasm for a dried starflower cake she'd made for her sideboard and "frosted" with bleached hydrangeas, roses and blue mint flowers. "People would walk into the house and ask, 'Can I buy that?' " she says. She used Kenneth Turner's book, "The Floral Decorator" (Random House, $35), for inspiration and how-tos, and now she finds her own designs, which often incorporate found natural materials, adapted by enthusiasts.
Her velvety moss fox jumping a rosebud hedge will accent the manor-house drawing room during "Christmas at an English Country House" this weekend at Ladew Topiary Gardens, where examples of topiary -- the traditional, living kind as well as the contemporary variety -- will be on display, all decorated for the holidays.
Among the popular holiday topiary designs at Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm in Severn is a ball formed from gilded, dried pomegranates, star anise, whole nutmegs, miniature cones and pepper berries and set atop a rosemary stem, says owner Maria Price-Nowakowski. She urges do-it-yourselfers to scavenge materials from yards and gardens -- and from basements, where castoff containers that can be transformed with moss might be found.
Sarah Cross Klinefelter, owner of Littlefield's and Crosspatch in Cross Keys, says gold is the color of the holidays this year. She's decorating silk ivy and preserved boxwood trees with gilded fruits, sheer fabrics and French-wired ribbon. For an elegant table design, she suggests staggering topiaries and candles of varying heights, including votives for bottom lighting.
Use the following tips to make your own topiary decorations this year. "Experiment," encourages Eleanor Oster. "If it doesn't work one way, it'll work another."
Four-inch ball topiaries
"Working with plaster of Paris is as easy as mixing flour and water," says Pam Freitag, head designer at Total Crafts in Parkville. Her quick-set recipe, enough for one 4-inch pot, dries in about 30 minutes.
Supplies: 16-ounce wide-mouth paper cup, craft sticks, 4-inch terra-cotta pot, 4-inch plastic foam ball, one branch 8 inches high and 1/2 -inch in diameter, 1 1/2 cups plaster of Paris, 1/2 cup water, four 8-inch strips of masking tape, plus one piece to cover hole in pot, handful of sheet moss or Spanish moss, glue, paper towel
Directions: Tape over hole in bottom of pot. Pour water into cup, then slowly add plaster of Paris. Stir with craft stick until mixed thoroughly. Working quickly, scrape mixture into pot (no more than one-third full; more may crack the pot) and insert branch. Make sure it's vertical and centered before taping. Wipe off excess plaster from rim with damp paper towel. Position first strip of tape across pot with one edge lightly touching branch. Place a parallel strip on other side of branch, then tape across remaining two sides. Set aside. When dry, add a thin layer of glue to the top of the plaster and fill pot with moss. To attach decorated ball described below, make a 1/2 -inch indent in bottom of plastic foam ball, apply glue to top 1 1/2 -inch of branch and work it into ball (no more than halfway, or ball may fracture).
To decorate the ball: Ladew executive director Lena Caron covers plastic foam balls with glue, attaches sheet moss, allows it to dry, then covers the moss with glue and rolls the balls in a bowl of potpourri or assorted shells, dried peas mixed with dried corn and beans, even beads and stones from old costume
jewelry. When ball is dry, attach to branch according to directions above. Bows and streamers can be added with floral picks and wire. The stem can be decorated with ribbon or raffia, or glue on vines and bittersweet. Color-wash terra-cotta pots by thining water-based paint with water. Use a sponge brush to apply. To splatter paint, hit a toothbrush dipped in paint with a stick.
Boxwood trees
Ready-made decorated topiary trees, as well as topiary forms, boxwood and floral preservative, will be available for sale at Ladew Topiary Gardens this weekend. Here are directions for those who want to try making their own.
Supplies: Chicken wire, wire cutters, dry leaves, 4- to 6-inch lengths of freshly cut boxwood, floral preservative (optional)
Directions: Determine height of tree desired before measuring and cutting chicken wire: a 12-inch tree requires a 12-by-12-by-12-inch triangular piece of wire. To form cone, pinch sides together at top of triangle and bend overlapping wires under each other to secure. Move to middle of sides and close wires in a similar fashion, then attach sides at lower end. Secure remaining side wires, stuff form with leaves, then turn under wires at bottom to form base. Make sure form stands upright. Trim excess wire at top, insert branches at an angle all over form, and spray with floral preservative. To decorate: Dip whole apples into floral preservative, insert one end of a long floral pick into the fruit (no more than halfway) and the other directly into the tree form. Adorn with cinnamon sticks wired onto picks (cover wires with bows and streamers) and insert into the form. Sprinkle cinnamon lightly over tree.
Sources
* Susan Kershaw, floral designer, (410) 472-2525. By appointment.
* Ladew Topiary Gardens, (410) 557-9466 for information about its "Christmas at an English Country House" tour and greens sale this weekend.
* Littlefield's, (410) 435-3132.
* Crosspatch, (410) 435-3131.
* Maryland Herb Farm, (410) 922-4261, retail and mail order. Topiary workshops will be scheduled early in 1995.
* Total Crafts, (410) 444-4500. Call for dates of 1995 topiary classes.
* Whitin & Oster, floral stylists, (410) 433-8480.
* Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm, (410) 551-2237, retail and mail order.