World’s Oldest Topiary Garden marks 330 years by influencing outdoor spaces across the world.

Levens Hall and Gardens is inspiring the spread of ‘Topiary Tourism’ across the world, helping visitors better appreciate the living art-form.

Best known as the home of the world’s oldest Topiary Garden, Leven’s garden was founded in 1694 and is celebrating 330 years. 

Gardens from Peterborough to Pennsylvania will follow their lead this month, as Levens celebrates their annual World Topiary Day on May 12.

Levens first established the event during the 2020 lockdown and has since lit up the topiary world, spreading the love of this type of garden feature. 

 

‘Topiary tourism’ has been growing over the past four years, as increase in attention on topiary has made it a central garden feature.

 

 

This year, a ‘Topiary Message in a Bottle’ has travelled from Levens Hall and Gardens, to the Monumental Gardens of Valsanzibio at Padua in Italy, Les Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac and La Ballue in France. The message has also visited several UK gardens, and will finish the relay back in Cumbria.

For the annual event, Leven’s is hosting special topiary tours, which will be led by head gardener, Chris Crowder, who has tended the garden since 1986. 

 

This year, Levens has also created the very first Topiary Tourism Guide, which details the displays offered at 33 other gardens, in the UK, Italy, France, Belgium and the USA. 

Levens Hall and Gardens’ owner, Richard Bagot, said: “We are thrilled at having been the inspiration for topiary tourism on this scale and for creating an event that has helped make the art of topiary a specific reason to visit gardens across the world.  It is rewarding to receive feedback that confirms how much we have managed to spread the love of topiary and help other visitor attraction gardens attract and wow visitors with their topiary creations and features, which can vary greatly between gardens.

 

“By backing this with our Topiary Tourism downloadable guide, which will help visitors plan a topiary experience at any time of year, we hope to build on our achievements to date and get more people interested in creating their own topiary too.  We believe that our Topiary Garden’s founder, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont, who first created topiary here in 1694, would be immensely proud of us.”