One of my designs for planting within a courtyard was to have lumpy, cloud pruned hedges that are extremely soft on the eyes with a light green, dark green and red/ purple shrub within the colour palette. When researching this I came across Jacques Wirtz, his landscape style is cloud pruning.
I have always admired topiary before I even came into landscape architecture, with one of my favourite movies being Edward Scissorhands. The control humans have over something so wild but making it appear so structural is stunning, Wirtz has a similar view, his gardens flaunt control through bending and shaping plants like malleable metal, with deep lines in the ground and bold smooth edges.
When Wirtz moved into his home he inherited a row of overgrown boxwoods that lined a walk like an avenue, through his exploration he clipped them then pruned them. Now in his work he uses boxwoods and yew hedges to create a similar effect for clients. However, there is a lack of sustainability as the maintenance is just as time consuming as the initial act of creation which, in the long term, is not great.
It is a reminder that gardens are never a single act of creation, but a constant act of recreation and renewal through the acts (vita activa) of gardening.
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