PROJECT: Put together a topiary plant or a topiary-style floral arrangement TOOLS: 6- to 8-inch potted plants (such as rosemary, ivy, or angel's eye), wire frame for topiary plants (available at craft stores, nurseries or floral shops), and high-quality pottery.

Topiary is the art of trimming live trees or shrubs into decorative shapes. English gardens are famous for having really big topiary lions and tigers and bears, oh my but it’s easy to have a little topiary or two right on top of the mantle in the home.

“Topiary is like bonsai, only way faster,” says florist Barne Thomas. “Generally, a topiary is something that has been pruned to make a stylized shape. You can do this with a little potted plant, or even broaden the definition to include fresh flowers.”

According to Thomas, the easiest way to get started with topiary is to use a wire frame to help train the plant into a desired shape. These frames can be found at nurseries, craft stores and floral shops, and come in a variety of shapes, such as hearts, stars and circles. It’s also possible to create a frame simply by bending a length of heavy-gauge wire into a desired shape, being sure to include a straight length of wire at the base that can be stuck into the dirt at the bottom of the plant.

“Ivy is a good plant for the beginner,” says Thomas. “It’s easy to work with and forgiving.”

Other popular topiary plants are rosemary and angel’s eye.

Thomas says topiary plants perform best when they are root-bound. Keep the plant in a small plastic pot, and place it inside another decorative pot.

“Remember that topiaries like humidity and hate to get dry, so keep them in a plastic pot, and don’t let them dry out. Also, you want to force growth out of the pot, so let them stay fairly root-bound to get a lot of growth out of the plant,” says Thomas.

Actually making the topiary is very easy.

“You just start twining the stuff. A longer plant gives more in the way of instant gratification,” says Thomas.

Place the wire frame in the center of the plant, and simply twine the stems along the frame. The frame may look bare to start, but after a couple of weeks the plant will fill out. Topiary are heavy feeders, so place a little granular fertilizer in the dirt, and continue to give the plant liquid fertilizer, even throughout the winter.

Put the plastic pot inside of a heavier decorative pot, but remember the intrinsic formality of topiary. The plant and pot should look balanced, top and bottom. Topiary tends to be tall, but don’t be tempted to use a larger pot to keep the thing upright. Simply pour some sand in the bottom of the exterior pot to keep in anchored.

Once the plant has filled out, it will start sending tendrils off of the frame. This is the time to whack off its little arms with a pair of sharp pruning shears or scissors.

“Pruning is the backbone of topiary,” says Thomas. “To maintain the plant you just trim what you don’t want. Like any pruning, you make it more shrubby when you cut it back, and that fills out the plant more and more.”

She says typically, topiary is displayed in groups, such as two or three different shapes along a mantle or entryway.

Because the plant is root-bound, it takes a little more love than the average houseplant, and can be susceptible to bugs, such as spider mites. Keep the plants away from drafts and wood stoves, and do not stress them by allowing them to dry out. If the plant gets spider mites – indicated by webbing on the bottom of the leaves spray it with diluted liquid dish soap, and rinse it in the shower to remove the bugs. It may take several spray-and-rinse treatments to completely remove the little pests.

Thomas says that it’s possible to create a topiary feel to a cut floral arrangement.

“The principals of topiary remain the same with a floral arrangement you want a stylized shape and a formal presentation,” she says.

Use flowers that have big heads, such as roses or lilies. Thomas likes to bunch odd numbers together. Place one flower in the center of a wet square of florist’s foam, and bunch the remaining flowers closely around it, keeping the stalks parallel. Trim the stems of all the leaves, and tie a decorative ribbon around the stems to hold the flowers together. Place moss or some low shrubbery around the base of the tall flowers, and put the arrangement in a waterproof container.

“Proportion is important,” she stresses. “The pot can’t be too big for the flowers. It wants to be tall and symmetrical.”

Thomas says that creating topiary brings a little bit of the formal garden indoors.

“It’s stylized and very pretty during the winter.”