Shaped into fanciful creatures or symmetrical orbs, topiaries are perfect for adding character and sophistication to gardens and landscapes. A favorite horticultural technique in the Middle Ages, topiary is still popular today, with creations resembling everything from mushrooms to Disney characters to architectural sculptures. Here, we showcase a few gorgeous examples seen in the pages of Architectural Digest , including the lush, topiary-dotted grounds of Valentino Garavani’s Château de Wideville in France, the clipped promenade creating a path to the poolhouse of a Southampton, New York, estate, and the sculpted boxwoods at a French garden designed by Louis Benech. Next time you are looking for gardening inspiration, take a gander at these topiary-filled terrains.
Stone dogs carved in the 17th century by the French artist Jacques Sarazin overlook a lawn dotted with topiaries at Château de Wideville , fashion designer Valentino Garavani’s 17th-century residence outside Paris.
At their estate in northeastern Ohio, Cil Draime and her late husband, Max, created a parklike setting that rambles over ten acres and encompasses seven ponds and a small lake. Every tree in the topiary garden is trimmed twice a year.
Landscape designer Charles Stick created the topiary promenade leading to this Southampton, New York, poolhouse , which is the work of Stick and architect Charles Muse; the sheep sculptures are by François-Xavier Lalanne.
Hand-painted trellis wallpaper by Gracie lines the sunroom of this Bunny Williams–decorated Georgian-style home in Richmond, Virginia ; the topiary at left is planted in an antique urn from Treillage. The dining table is 19th century, and the painted shell-back chairs are from John Rosselli Antiques.
At a 1920s home in the San Francisco area , boxwood hedges border a path in the gardens, which were updated by Strata Landscape Architecture.
An heirloom stone basin centers a walled garden in Prince Stanislas Poniatowski’s Louis Benech–designed landscape in the French village of Cernay , where topiaries add rhythm and whimsy.
