Please help me make some garden decisions! 🌿
I’m at a crossroads in the garden today and I really need your input! From deciding whether to “limb up” my Eugenia topiaries to figuring out the future of some “accidental” garden volunteers, there is a lot to discuss.
The Fairytale House channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LindaVaterFairytale
In this video, we’re tackling those nagging topiary questions: How far is too far when pruning a Myrtle? What do you do when the back of your Boxwood looks… well, pitiful? And the big one—should I remove the bottom ball of my tiered Eugenia to clean up the landscape, or keep the classic form?
I’ve got my shears ready, but I’m waiting to hear from you first!
Help me out in the comments:
The Eugenia Dilemma: Should I remove the bottom ball or keep the tiers?
The Oakland Holly: Should I try for a 4th ball on top or snip it?
Under-planting: Do you like flowers at the base of your topiaries, or do you prefer the clean look of gravel?
What we’re covering today:
Restoration Pruning: How to get your Myrtles dense on the inside, not just the outside.
Saving “Lemon” Plants: Turning a neglected, half-dead Arborvitae into a beautiful sphere.
Sourcing Secrets: Where to find the best material (including $10 Lowe’s finds!) and why I’m loving Better Boxwood.
The Squeaky Gate Maintenance: My daily routine for keeping topiaries tight and tidy.
The 360° Rule: A simple tip to prevent your potted plants from thinning out on one side.
Timestamps for the impatient gardener:
0:00 Addressing your topiary questions
0:46 The Eugenia “Bottom Ball” debate (Help!)
2:45 Moving containers vs. planting in-ground
4:20 Shaping the Oakland Holly
7:22 Myrtle maintenance: Scissors vs. Shears
8:32 How to hard-prune for density
10:24 Making “Lemonade” out of free garden volunteers
14:10 Why you MUST rotate your pots
17:09 Why Better Boxwood is my new favorite
20:24 The final reveal: Eugenia & Little Miss Figgy
Plants mentioned: Eugenia, Myrtle Compacta, Green Mountain Boxwood, Oakland Holly (Southern Living Plant Collection), Better Boxwood (Renaissance & Babylon Beauty), Little Miss Figgy Fig.
#Topiary #GardenDecisions #Boxwood #Pruning #GardenTips #LandscapeDesign #GardeningHelp #Eugenia #Myrtle #BetterBoxwood
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46 Comments
REM🌳VE‼️
Linda, I received a beautiful azalea as a gift. After the full bloom passed, I am trying to just keep it from dying. Do I let it rest? Do I fertilize with a peticular product? I want the plant to green up.
My vote is no 4th ball .
Don’t do it!
What i did not know miracle grow wasn't good for your garden soil ….why?…I've never heard that before….please explain why
Linda I love your term “horrentially hot” 😅
Linda! I would not try for a fourth ball on the holly. Re myrtles, I have had excellent luck on Etsy and Amazon.
I think the 4th ball could be visually arresting, but maintaining it will be a nightmare. It will be impossible to reach the top ball without a ladder, and putting a ladder next to that slope scares the bejesus out of.me.
Etsy has myrtle topiaries
When you prune your boxwoods, do you ever propogate what you've clipped off? I find that boxwoods are one of the easiest to start from cuttings. They develop healthy roots pretty quickly! 😊
I think nip off the bottom ball. It kinda looks crowded and messy.
Fourth ball on side garden
Wondering about the hanging basket project … will you still be hanging the begonias near the garage?
I vote yes to giving the fourth ball a go. If you succeed it will be so impressive! About the front topiaries I would agree that the bottom balls are a bit pointless, in my opinion they are too spaced out to be elegant. In Utah you can buy all kinds of topiaries from a most excellent store called Cactus and Tropicals.
Linda a have Tree of Heaven in my garden. I don't know where it came from. Probably birds or squirrels. What do I do?❤❤
Leave the blue point juniper alone. No to making it a topiary. It is a perfect fluffy plant.
Here in British Columbia Canada I find the Myrtle topiaries at the better known garden centres. So love topiary, thank you Linda I’m hooked!
This was a wonder video. Thank you for all your tips and tricks.
I got myrtle topiaries from Bella Vintage Home.
My vote is no to the 4th ball. Great video! On a separate note, I remember you said you like to watch the jazz music videos on YT with AI visuals. I came across a channel today on YouTube called Meow Jazz with that plays the best vintage jazz. I immediately thought of you.
Linda, aside from your inspirational gardening teaching, you are worthy of a genuinely earned big ATTA' GIRL on keeping such a fine fugure! An honest mention. You look FABULOUS! Just take it and run with this noted truth. 💛👍
Great tutorial, Linda.
Is the 2 ball Eugenia in question (to keep or not keep the bottom ball) planted in the ground? I thought they had to go in a greenhouse in Edmond area? Love your videos!
Oh my oh my! The snippet of the fairytale house, the music and Linda just made me smile (there's nothing like it for me). I miss it so much…those were the days! But I know we all have to move on.
I have " somewhat" topiaried a very overgrown limelight hydrangea.. . standard form, anyway. Raised the canopy; ended up with quite an opportunity to place a birdbath-esque hardscaple; will fit two hardscape decorative benches; and hopefully a good, somewhat macro vignette.
So inspired!!!
Since you asked…. I vote for letting the holly be a holly. A pyramid form. I think there can be too much of a good thing. Your backyard is full of topiaries. 😎 I love your front yard gardens because of the mixture. And I really had my doubts on some of that but I love it! I am a loosey goosey gal though so that’s just my opinion. Thanks for always sharing. I do not in any form or fashion mean anything to be mean.
Do old boxwoods have “seed” balls or “flowers”?
No 4 th ball. Not sure about the 3 either!
No for the 4th ball Linda wldnt it get a little too high to maintain 🤔
I bought a 5’ three ball Eugenia topiary at Costco last week for 35 dollars.
I would remove the bottom of the topiary trees. They look like they are growing out of other bushes. Which looks kind of strange. Cutting off the bottom woukd allow the stem to show and allow more flowers at the base.
I LOVE the view of the garden in the beginning! Stunning!
I would be very nterested in a video on your pot decisions and placing them in landscape. How you water etc. Thanks
Yes. Open that area up for more flowers.
Wack it!
Oooh this timing is so perfect! I just found two Myrtle topiaries at my local Home Depot for $20 each. I’m so excited to care for them… my little piece of Vater style 🥰🥰. Thank you for another great video, Linda!
We can get Myrtle topiaries from Bowood Farms in St
Louis. Great place. You would love it. Also a great restaurant there
Where do you source the brown clay pots from?
Clip it Linda! It looks too crowded via camera.
Side yard topiary. U have a lot of balls thruout the garden. How about a stovepipe topiary instead?
does anyone know what brand of bypass pruners Linda has?
Is gardening ADD a compulsion or a compassion for gardening🤗🇨🇦
Hi Linda new to gardening, you have helped me. I'm on Cape Cod so have to make some changes. Just now getting outside to start, tough winter 😊
Also I am going to try a topiary
I would not develop a 4th ball on the topiary.
No 4th. Ball