How to Use Artificial Topiary in Your Home for Luxury & Ease 

Topiary has long been the mark of a luxury home, and it takes a skilled hand to trim and maintain real topiary. Since few of us need (or want) to employ a gardener, a great way to bring that same luxury feel to your home is with artificial topiary. Artificial topiary no longer looks plasticky – it looks so real most people have to touch it to discover that it’s not. That means you can use it liberally and have that same, beautiful finish as homes maintained by gardeners, but without the expense or difficulty of getting and keeping plants in particular shapes.

If you’re thinking about using artificial topiary on your property, keep reading.

What is Topiary?

Topiary is essentially a form of art, in which skilled gardeners carefully prune plants into beautiful and often elaborate shapes. Topiary has been around for hundreds of years and has long been a staple of stately home gardens and Japanese Zen gardens. It became particularly popular in the 19^th century, which is one of the reasons we can see topiary maintained on so many historical homes today.

What are the Benefits of Using Artificial Topiary?

There are numerous benefits of using artificial topiary, but the main benefits are:

1. You don’t need to water your plants and they don’t need a certain level of sunlight
2. They need no maintenance or trimming – gardeners who maintain topiary are extremely skilled and learning how to maintain basic shapes can be a challenge (not to mention an entirely new hobby!)
3. They’re easy to clean since outdoor artificial topiary will be kept clean through light wind or rain, and indoor artificial topiary can be dusted and cleaned quickly without worrying that you’re going to snap leaves
4. You can use them anywhere – from outside to in a dark bathroom
5. They look realistic
6. They won’t lose their leaves or be damaged by frost in winter
7. They won’t aggravate allergies
8. They still promote overall mood and help with feelings of relaxation

How to Use Topiary to Create a Luxury Home

Accessorise for a Symmetrical Front Door

A classic look for any urban, suburban, or rural luxury home is to have a matching topiary on either side of your front door. Simply pick a style of artificial topiary you like, a pair of matching pots that are in harmony with the overall style of your home, and place them on either side of the door for instant effect.

A few tips to help you achieve the very best look are:

• Choose a size of planter and topiary that matches the grandeur of your home. If your home is a cottage, then choosing topiary with a lot of volume and/or height may make your home appear smaller. Generally, unless you choose a tall and skinny shape, don’t choose a plant that reaches more than ¾ of the way up your door.
• If you use tall and thin topiary, consider adding hanging topiary balls from hangers on either side of the door to balance out the look, especially on taller homes.
• Select pots and planters mindfully – what kind of look do you want to create? A simple square oak planter looks classy and natural, but other classic looks are terracotta and Greek-style plant pots.
• Will they be on your private property or near the side of the road? If the latter, consider not only how much space they can realistically take up but if you need to make them heavy enough that they will not be stolen.
• Consider filling the planter base and top (once your topiary is in the planter) with pebbles so you won’t need to worry about the wind knocking them over.

Use Topiary in Window Boxes

If you don’t like the look of flower-filled window boxes, small, neat topiary can add character and greenery, without looking cute. This works especially well in tall windows.

Group Topiary in Planters on Patios

If you have a lot of patio space, try grouping 4 planters together with identical topiary with plenty of space around them. This works especially well in a long, wide walkway.

Alternatively, use topiary to create a natural divider between the patio and the rest of the garden, which helps provide your outside space with interest, a little shade on summer days, and a way to separate your entertaining space from where your children or dogs play. 

Bookend Benches

If you’ve ever taken a stroll through an old, historical garden of a manor or palace, you likely will have seen or sat on a bench that has topiary bushes or trees on either side. It’s such a classy way to prevent a bench placement from looking too randomly placed.

Use Small Topiary Bushes on Your Dining Table

Use small topiary bushes to create a simple and timeless centrepiece for your dining table (or an accessory for a side table). You can put them in whichever style of container works best for your décor. Some ideas are:

• Woven baskets
• Metal buckets
• Small terracotta pots
• Porcelain pots
• Concrete-look pots
• Vases
• Crystal vases

If you do the above, consider using the same containers on a sideboard for your cutlery to create cohesion.

Use Tall and Thin Topiary on Interior Windowsills

Windowsills are a great place to put plants, but they can block a lot of light and make the interior room feel darker. Instead, use tall and thin artificial topiary to give you a similar look but without losing all-important natural light. It’s also a great option if you have pets who like to sit on the windowsill since there’s no risk of them knocking soil or vases of water onto the floor.

Use Faux Boxwood Topiary in Hallways

If you have a wide entryway or hallway to the backdoor, or an area that’s only big enough for a small plant, choose a faux boxwood topiary to pull the eye toward the other end of the hallway or to fill an awkward space. You can find this kind of artificial topiary in a huge range of shapes, so simply choose what you like best.

Use Shaped Topiary on Doors 

Your door doesn’t have to be naked once that Christmas wreath comes down – shaped topiary can fill the space year-round. This look can work for any home but looks especially good on townhomes and rural properties.

Place Them on Stairway Landings

Stairway landings are particularly difficult to decorate – leave them bare, and they can look like a blank spot in your home’s décor. However overdo it, and you’ll have to step around clutter or break the flow from one floor to the next. Artificial topiary of almost any shape or design works wonderfully in difficult spaces.

Use Artificial Topiary to Bring Balconies to Life

Balconies are difficult to decorate, especially if they’re on the small side. They’re usually too dark for real plants and you need plenty of space for seating. Artificial topiary looks good whether you’re out on the balcony or sitting inside looking out.

Use Tall Artificial Topiary in Front of Mirrors in Entryways

Using mirrors in entryways is a great way to create more space, and standing topiary in front of a mirror reflects the back of the artificial plant and creates more volume, without taking up space in a narrow hallway.

Use Them Along Fencelines

Many of us now opt for gardens that are easy to maintain, and that often means we don’t have overflowing luscious gardens like those seen on Gardener’s World, but sleek, modern outdoor spaces with turf, artificial grass, decking, and pebbles. If you have a fence that looks bland, try placing artificial topiary in matching pots along the fenceline. It will bring more greenery into your outside space and won’t require the difficult maintenance real plants do.

Frame the Entrance of Your Driveway

Remember those long, sweeping treelined driveways from Jane Austen stories? If your driveway is on the longer side, use artificial topiary at the entrance and at intervals leading up to the parking area and your front door. Again, this doesn’t have to be long, and you can even do this around the edge of a shorter round, square, or rectangular driveway for a modern finish.

Use Artificial Topiary in Bathrooms

Artificial topiary works perfectly for bringing some greenery to ultra-modern bathrooms – those that don’t suit bohemian planters or relaxed palms. You can use the same small types of topiary on bathroom windowsills and countertops we talked about earlier for dining tables and side tables. Alternatively, use taller pieces in corners beside the basin or toilet. Start sparingly and increase as needed to keep a modern look, though the bigger the bathroom, the more you can use. 

Artificial topiary can be used in both modern homes and rural farmhouse styles to great effect, but don’t be deterred from trying artificial topiary if you don’t feel you have either style. With the right décor and accessories, artificial topiary can be used in any style of home inside or out! Shop our entire range of artificial topiary here.