In June we had a topiary workday held at Showborough House, Twynings, Gloucestershire. A workday is to gain hands on experience, limited in numbers so all get a proper go at the task. Debbie Barber attended the day with six others and sends in this report.

Although I had done my training some years ago I realise that there is always something new to learn. I have never had a go at the fine art of topiary so decided to sign up for the workday, plus I wanted to see a beautiful garden!

We all received a hand out covering various aspects of the topic and the tutor told us loads of tips and guidance on avoiding the pitfalls, all from personal experience.

The hands on session was most informative with the opportunity to use machinery I hadn’t experienced before. We were all rather tentative at first – it was someone else’s hedge after all and if we cut it wrong very noticeable! Once we had eased our way into the task we grew in confidence and happily embarked on different shapes – balls, cubes and cloud pruning.

We also had a tour of the garden to see all the examples within the grounds – a lovely garden and wel worth the visit. An added bonus was the sculpture on display – all for sale at affordable prices. A really enjoyable day.