T is for Topiary

Topiary seems to go with Christmas time. The one below is made of Holly sporting red berries. It comes from a company that sells artificial flowers and topiaries.
They advertise the fun shapes below already lit by fairy lights. I really love the Saguaro cactus. The largest is 65" tall.

I've always had a fascination for topiary and have thought it would be fun to try one. Topiary like these are of tough woody plants like boxwood, juniper, or myrtle and are pruned little by little into the desired shape.

Maybe I could make an elephant.....but I'd rather have this dragon! Wait! I can have this dragon..it's 100 feet long, sold at at Neiman Marcus for $35,000. It's in the 2008 Christmas catalog if you want one too...

You can buy wire frames to fill with sphagnum moss to achieve a fun look in much less time. There are a wide variety of whimsical shapes available. I 'd have a hard time choosing....

Cinderella and the Prince at Disney World.....

This swan is also made of sphagnum moss. I don't know how they colored it white! Or uncolored it green...hummmmm artificial white sphagnum moss?

I think I might just try a small sphagnum moss topiary next summer!

If you're interested in making a topiary, there's a lot of available information and many shapes of wire frames, including your favorite breed of dog as well as instructions are widely available.