A native European tree, more often seen clipped as a hedge and as topiary. The foliage is toxic to many browsing animals (cattle, horses and sheep) and so in rural areas, you’ll only see this growing in church yards, gardens and some native stands of pure yew forest like the wonderfully ancient and slightly spooky Kingley Vale near Chichester in West Sussex.
Hardiness level Green
Undoubtedly the ‘posh’ choice for creating a uniformed and elegant hedge line or for more creative and curvaceous delineations/partitions. Little else looks as sharp as yew or retains its clipped shape. Yew is relatively slow growing, so if you are looking for instant impact, you’ll want to follow Flo’s advice which is, ‘to get it at the height you want it’. Clipping twice a year is important to encourage growth, density, and the fusion of the individual plants into one solid hedge line.
Hardiness level Green
The perfect topiary yew cube is one of the most satisfying shapes fashioned from Taxus baccata. The epitome of simple yet smart precision. Whatever the time of the year, the light finds a way to define the symmetry of each refined luxurious evergreen side; highlighting the crisp lines and casting subtle geometric shadows on its near surrounds.
Hardiness level Green
Short of owning your own garden maze, our raised stem topiary yew cubes, yew gatekeepers with ball top or mushroom top, and yew spirals are the ultimate statement in topiary splendour. Persuadable and co-operative to shaping, Taxus baccata will dutifully maintain pretty much any shape demanded of it. These are clipped and trained in a style synonymous with those found in the gardens at Chateau Villandry in the Loire Valley.
Hardiness level Green
Topiarised yew standards show off all the best features of Taxus baccata. The characterful and tactile bark matures over time to show off rich hues of bronze and red and subtle swirling furrows of knotty wood. The sumptuous, fluffy textural foliage then combines to create a luxuriant time-honoured looking evergreen tree.
Hardiness level Green
Our topiary yew pillows have a soft curved dome. A shape rather similar to what can be found in a baker’s proving draw or at the pick’n’mix counter. Linda, our nursery’s lead clipper, refers to them as flying saucers (the rice paper sweetie variety). With a lower profile than a ball, these are just the job for planting at the front of a border (formal or informal) or between more ball shaped plants to create contrasting undulations and tiers. A collection of which we call an Architectural Plants’ Blobbery TM.
Hardiness level Green
Topiary yew cones shaped like these have a very appealing curvaceous volume. Softer in look than a yew pyramid but still having an equally impressive presence they define spaces with a subtle grace. Taxus baccata in this form is a versatile evergreen architectural shape for a formal or more informal planting scheme and equally wonderful to stand either side of an entrance way.
Hardiness level Green
Our topiary yew pyramids provide vertical drama all year round. Immediately eye-catching, not much else shows off the angular and textural versatility of Taxus baccata quite so succinctly. Evergreen, there are two options: keep meticulously clipped twice a year and the pyramid surfaces and edges can look crisp and dynamic: leave unclipped for a longer period of time (most definitely don’t just leave it untamed) and the surface form can be fluffy and tactile.
Hardiness level Green
Our yew ‘Niwaki’ trees are homegrown by our propagators and trained and shaped by Linda and our experienced topiary experts. An exciting new ornamental topiary addition to our range of ‘Niwaki’ forms, we’re developing these to show off all the handsome characteristics of Taxus baccata in one plant. Keep the cloud-pruned pads sharply clipped for long lasting definition or be a little more relaxed with your shears and allow the plush and fuzzy textural habit of the foliage to do the talking.
Hardiness level Green
Our yew balls have a spherical and buxom profile and are distinctly different in shape to our pillows. If you’re a perfectionist and are looking for a formal look, then they will require greater attention when clipping to retain that quintessential definition. Slow growing, you’ll only need to do this twice a year. You can’t beat them for creating a structured garden space, or potted in a courtyard, or lining pathways, or planted as part of a contemporary par-terre or an Architectural Plants’ Blobbery TM.
Hardiness level Green
