BC Living
Recipe: B.C. Beef and Potatoes
You’ve Gotta Try This in February 2025
Recipe: How to Make Pie Crust from Scratch
Attention, Runners: Here are 19 Road Races Happening in B.C. in Spring 2025
Nature’s Pharmacy: 8 Herbal Boutiques in BC
How Barre Enhances Your Flexibility
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Local Getaway: Hideaway at a Mystical Earth House in Kootenay
9 BC Wellness Hotels to Relax and Recharge in This Year
Local Getaway: Enjoy Waterfront Views at a Ucluelet Beach House
B.C. Adventures: Things to Do in February
5 Beautiful and Educational Nature and Wildlife Tours in BC
7 Beauty and Wellness Influencers to Follow in BC
11 Gifts for Galentine’s Day from B.C. Companies
14 Cute Valentine’s Day Gifts to Give in 2025
8 Gifts to Give for Lunar New Year 2025
Q: I have always wanted a sculpted hedge or topiary. How do I go about this?
Time and patience are the main ingredients, for both features are easy to grow with dramatic effect. First, decide on the desired size and dimensions, then chose the appropriate plant. Use true dwarf boxwood, Japanese holly or spreading English yew for a feature of 90 cm (3 ft.) or less. For subjects up to about 1.8 m (6 ft.), consider the upright cultivars of yew or regular boxwood. Due to their small leaves, these plants can be clipped very precisely. This should be done at least twice a year. If overgrown shrubs must be renovated, they can be cut back hard in May. Fertilize, mulch and water through summer; plants will produce new growth and cover the cuts after several months.
ONE: Use long-handled pruners or an electric trimmer. Clean, accurate lines are critical, as the eye is immediately drawn to imperfections. While professional topiarists “eyeball it,” you might want an aid. Outline the hedge with stakes and twine, checking that horizontals are level. Make the hedge slightly wider at the base.
TWO: Cut a circular hole out of a piece of cardboard and tape this “hole” to two stakes. It can be rotated around the shrub as you cut.
THREE: The late, great horticulturist Linda Plato used to say, “The only thing better than one hedge is two.”