I have always loved a topiary garden. As far back as I can remember I have loved all the architectural & quirky clipped shapes talented gardeners have fashioned from their imaginations. Have you seen the topiary at Levels Hall? isn’t it fabulous! …
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![drawing of topiary at Pips Place by Jo Alderson Phillips](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IMG_6022-3-1024x474.jpeg)
I now love to design my own knot gardens & parterres or add a selection of quirky topiary pieces to compliment a building or add amazing character to a garden. Above is one of my drawings for the front of a Georgian mansion in Buckinghamshire. The existing driveway is huge & the building really impressive but slightly overwhelming. My intention here is to provide an interesting connection between garden & architecture that is characterful, works year round & will be beautiful to walk through en route to the front door.
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/169_MLP10047-1024x683.jpg)
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![Beech topiary specimens](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_1139.jpeg)
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IMG_1053.jpeg)
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/night-lighting-parterre-Pips-Place-1024x683.jpg)
Topiary & parterres look amazing when lit too. This is an evening shot of the same house. The parterres I designed around this house called Pip’s Place is all very simple which suit the glamour & grandeur of the building. This French style knot garden below however is within a walled garden beside a group of cottages that have been connected over time to form one house near Henley on Thames. It was such fun to design & my clients maintain it beautifully as you can see here…
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/French-fountain-in-a-formal-garden-with-parterre-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips-1024x1024.jpeg)
![the knot garden](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Knot-garden-parterre-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips.jpeg)
![Front parterre](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Parterr-front-garden-with-circular-dining-terrace-leading-from-the-kitchen-scaled.jpeg)
![the kitchen terrace](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/F4483820-E8FA-4104-A06D-4A082027166A-scaled.jpeg)
![knot garden & french fountain in the walled garden near Henley](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/French-style-knot-garden-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips-1024x682.jpg)
I get a huge kick out of seeing my drawings come to life & inhabit once barren spaces, but I also get a huge kick out of designing these knot gardens & parterres for my clients. It’s bit like solving a puzzle! I love puzzles so they generally come quite easily to me but I do study traditional gardens too for inspiration. Here are a few of my sketches & plans..
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/topiary-garden-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips-768x1024.jpeg)
![drawing of a parterre by Jo Alderson Phillips](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/new-parterre-in-Aston-Tirrold-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips-scaled.jpeg)
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/P1060573-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/62B27B76-99BF-42B0-94AB-5C24DB0EB494-1024x1024.jpeg)
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![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Sketch-of-formal-topiary-at-entrance-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips-1024x768.jpeg)
This one is a contemporary way of using topiary. A very elegant row of topiary pompoms beside a clipped hedge & corten panels that lead the way to the front door of a very modern house.
Finally a tiny courtyard I did in Berkshire. This is viewed from a glass extension. It looks pretty year round & yes it is uplit!
![](https://www.joannealderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Our-completed-courtyard-with-simple-knot-garden-with-evergreen-topiary-pleached-hornbeams-by-Jo-Alderson-Phillips-@-Joanne-Alderson-Design-1024x1024.jpg)
Did you know Medieval monks invented parterres & knot gardens? They called them embroidery for the earth & filled the shapes with medicinal herbs or roses. Brilliant idea – long may they continue – which they certainly will if my clients keep requesting them – being a garden designer is such a great job!
Til next time!