World Topiary Day was on the 12th May this year. It was launched in 2021 by the owners of the world’s oldest topiary garden at Levens Hall and Gardens in Cumbria which dates from 1694. https://www.levenshall.co.uk/.
We know that the main Victorian creator of Bridge End Garden, Francis Gibson, visited Levens Hall and was inspired to create his own topiary garden. There are two box parterres, ornamental yews, box edging and a yew hedge maze which were all part of the original design. There is also box cloud pruning which probably dates to the end of the first world war. As few gardeners returned, overgrown topiary had to be managed in a different way.
World Topiary Day aims to celebrate the art of topiary in both public and privately-owned gardens across the world and to inspire keen gardeners to adopt topiary’s style and structure within their own private gardens. Why not come along and be inspired by the topiary at Bridge End Garden!