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Topiary in the garden needn't be expensive. You can easily grow and train your own plant sculpture from scratch. The process takes a few years, but you'll have all the satisfaction of seeing your creation take shape, at a fraction of the price

. This will again cause sideshoots to grow and the plants can be given a final shaping and tidy up if necessary in early autumn. Box topiary, secateurs, sheep-hand shears, large scissors or garden shearsMay - August 20 minutes for each plantUse secateurs scissors

two years for your ball shape to fully develop.Find out how to create more topiary shapes, in Alan Titchmarsh's feature in the November 2011 issue of Gardeners' World Magazine, on sale now. Alan explains how to make a range of shapes, including cones

Shape box topiary Clipped box topiary adds style, elegance and fun to the garden. It can be grown as individual trained geometric shapes and standard specimens in borders or large pots, as well as dwarf hedges or edgings. To keep topiary in shape

topiaryPlanting up a Christmas pot of boxBrowse a variety of evergreen shrubsView plants for autumn colour

Plant gladioli in groups to depth of 10-15cm, planting onto gravel if you have heavy soilComplete outside sowings of hardy annual flowers Lightly clip box edging and topiary to neaten them upSpray new leaves on disease-prone roses with fungicide

Plant out dahlias into well-prepared soil that's been enriched with manureCut down pulmonarias to just above soil level after flowering to encourage new foliageClip box hedging and topiary to keep it neatRegularly tie tall stems of delphiniums

colourant solution if you want blue flowersUse a circuit breaker (RCD) when using electric toolsScoop floating weed from ponds with a netTrim hedges and topiaryTop up bird baths regularly

Treat lawn weedsRemove suckers growing around or on stems of roses, trees and shrubsTrim box topiary and hedging

should be able to buy all the ingredients for your plant support from a garden centre or DIY store for less than £10.Galvanised wire1.5m bamboo cane45cm terracotta potWire cuttersCompostIvy plantall year round30 minutesCut a 3m length of wire and bend