Compositions Seven — 9 to 11 plants each
Scale 20cm to 170cm within one set
Grown Tuscany — specimen grade
From £1,340 the composition
Composition N° 01 — Architectural Plants
Statement planting · composed, not collected
Sculpture. Grown to scale.
Architectural plants for gardens that are asked to hold a space on their own — graduated spiral runs, cube matrices, sentinel cone arrays and massed standards, supplied as matched compositions of nine to eleven specimens, sized and numbered to read as a single sculptural object rather than a shelf of individual plants.
Compositions from £1,340 · free UK delivery
How to composeOne plant decorates.Nine compose.
Architectural planting is rarely a problem of finding one good specimen. It is a problem of number, size step and repetition — the things that make a group of plants read as a single sculptural object rather than a collection of nice purchases. Every set in this collection is specified whole: nine to eleven specimens, graded into deliberate size bands, one species per set for tonal unity, grown alongside each other and dispatched together. The sheet below is the brief; the compositions above answer it.
Three moves.Everything else is taste.
One pinned frame. Scroll.
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Rhythm & repetition
The cheapest way to make planting look designed is to repeat one module enough times that the eye stops counting. The Lollipop Forest is that argument at full volume — eleven standards on identical 20–30cm canopies, massed for density (from £2,000) — while The Lollipop Trio takes the same species through three stem heights for a calmer, classical run (from £1,640). The same logic scales down a boundary in border by the metre.
Gradient & mass
Graduation is what stops a group reading as a shop display: many small, fewer medium, one focal. The Sphere Gradient is the clearest demonstration — six spheres at 20–30cm, three at 40–50cm and a single 60–70cm anchor, from £1,340 — and The Cube Matrix does it in cubes (from £3,005), The Spiral Ascent in spirals rising to 170cm (from £3,605).
The site visit
Before specifying, walk the approach. Compositions want a viewing distance and a backdrop — a wall, a hedge, a building elevation — because sculptural forms only read against something plain. Judge scale from where the set will actually be seen, and check access: these are heavy, mature specimens on a pallet, not pot plants. English yew is the default where the composition has to look right in fifty years' time.
Six statement sets.Specified whole.
Drag through the collection — RRP including VAT, per composition.
The entry
10 graduated balls — 6 small, 3 medium, 1 focal. Yew or holly.
£1,340 – £1,600
The eclectic
9 English yew forms — balls, cubes and cones, one species.
£1,800 – £1,980
The installation
11 massed standards on identical canopies — repetition as sculpture.
£2,000 – £2,370
The boundary
10 sentinel cones to 150cm — rhythm along a run, winter presence.
£2,900 – £3,610
The modernist
10 English yew cubes, graduated to a 70–80cm anchor. Grid planting.
£3,005 – £3,140
The commission
9 graduated spirals rising to 170cm — the collection's set piece.
£3,605 – £5,630
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Each range spans the species option and the matched grass underplanting; the lower figure is the composition alone. Single specimens at this scale live in statement topiary and grand topiary.
Specifying at scale.Four rules.
What separates a composition from an expensive assortment.
One species per composition
Tonal unity is what lets three different geometric forms read as one work — which is why The Mixed Geometry uses English yew for its balls, cubes and cones rather than mixing species for variety. Change the shape, hold the colour. Mixing both at once is the single commonest way an expensive scheme ends up looking accidental.
Set the spacing before the plants arrive
Mark positions on the ground and live with them for a day. Graduated sets want uneven intervals — the focal specimen given room, the small forms allowed to cluster; arrays and matrices want the opposite, an interval measured and held exactly. Whichever you choose, allow the mature spread of the largest specimen plus a working gap for clipping.
Plan access, not just placement
Compositions arrive on a kerbside pallet. Mature cones at 130–150cm and 70–80cm yew cubes are two-person lifts, so check the route from kerb to position — side gates, steps, gravel, level changes — before delivery day rather than on it. Raised planters and courtyards suit these sets well; getting into them is the part worth thinking about early.
Clip to the plane, once or twice a year
Geometry is maintained, not fixed — but the workload is small: one to two clips a year holds every form in this collection, working to the plane rather than the plant. Yew and Japanese holly are the most forgiving of a late or heavy cut. Method, timing and tools are in the pruning & trimming guide.
You are not buying plants.You are buying years.
A 150–170cm spiral is not a large plant that happens to be twisted; it is the record of a grower returning to the same specimen, season after season, until the form held. That labour is the cost, and it is also the reason this is the rare garden purchase that improves rather than depreciates — hard landscaping starts wearing out the day it is laid, while a clipped composition gains density, weight and value with every year it is kept. Nine to eleven of them, arriving together and already matched, is a decade of a nursery's work delivered on one pallet.
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Architectural plants.Quick answers.
The questions specifiers actually ask, answered by the growers.
What is a composition, and what actually arrives?
A composition is a complete matched set, not a single plant. Each one contains nine to eleven specimen topiary graded into deliberate size bands — The Sphere Gradient, for example, is six balls at 20–30cm, three at 40–50cm and one 60–70cm focal specimen — grown in one species so the group reads as a single work. Every plant in the set arrives together, clipped to form and ready to place.
Can a composition be tailored to my site?
Within the set, yes. Several of the compositions offer a species choice — English yew or Japanese holly on the spirals, cones and spheres; bay laurel or Delavay privet on the massed standards — and each offers an optional matched grass underplanting (Stipa, Festuca, Carex, Pennisetum, Molinia or Ophiopogon depending on the set), which is the difference between the lower and upper figure in each price. The size bands themselves are fixed, because the graduation is the design.
How much do architectural plant compositions cost?
RRP including VAT, per complete composition: The Sphere Gradient £1,340–£1,600; The Lollipop Trio £1,640–£1,810; The Mixed Geometry £1,800–£1,980; The Lollipop Forest £2,000–£2,370; The Cone Array £2,900–£3,610; The Cube Matrix £3,005–£3,140; The Spiral Ascent £3,605–£5,630. Each range covers the species option and the optional grass underplanting; UK delivery is free.
How should the plants be spaced and placed?
Give the composition a plain backdrop and a viewing distance — sculptural forms only read against something quiet. Graduated sets (spheres, cubes, spirals) want uneven intervals with the focal specimen given room; arrays and matrices want one measured interval held exactly. Allow the mature spread of the largest specimen plus a working gap for clipping, and mark the positions on the ground before delivery.
What are the lead times and how is a composition delivered?
Compositions are delivered on a kerbside pallet, UK-wide and free of charge, in 14–21 working days; the driver calls around an hour ahead. These are large, mature specimens — cones to 150cm and cubes to 80cm are two-person lifts — so check the route from kerb to final position before the delivery date. Full terms are at delivery & returns.
What is guaranteed, and how much maintenance is involved?
Every composition is covered by the 7-day Matching Guarantee, the 6-month Thrive Guarantee — replacement at 50% of the single-plant price if a plant fails despite reasonable care — and Lifetime Care Support, so a photo gets grower answers for as long as you own the set. Upkeep is one to two clips a year to hold the geometry; yew and Japanese holly are the most forgiving of a late cut.
Matched beforeyou ever see it.
Every specimen in the set selected together in Tuscany and grown alongside its neighbours — so the graduation you specified is the graduation that arrives.
Your actual composition, laid out at our UK depot, before the pallet is built.
7-day Matching Guarantee, then the 6-month Thrive Guarantee through establishment.
Lifetime Care Support — a photo gets grower answers for as long as you own the set.
