Add this fragrant plant to
your deck, garden, or porch.

The Basics

It's easy to buy ready-trained topiary, but it's fun and satisfying to make your own. Many types of plants are well-suited to shaping, including the herb rosemary used here. It's also possible to train your own topiaries from hollies, ivies, and boxwood, or from flowering plants, such as lantana, fuchsia, and hydrangeas. (For instant gratification, simply buy nursery-grown plants in 6- or 8-inch pots, trim away the lower branches, and carefully prune upper branches until you've created a globe shape.)

 

1. Plant a cutting. To make this simple rosemary topiary, start by planting a rooted cutting in a half-and-half mixture of peat and perlite.

 

2. Pot up. Once the cutting is fully rooted, transplant it to a 3-1/2-inch pot using sterilized potting soil. Prune the side shoots slightly, which will encourage vertical growth.