The material is the character.

Form decides the silhouette — species decides where it thrives and what it says.

Shade is the first question. A north-facing entrance or an overshadowed courtyard rules out most evergreens — but not English yew, the darkest and most patient material in topiary, nor Japanese holly, the box alternative that holds the tightest clipped surface in the range and shrugs off box blight entirely.

Colour is the second. Photinia Red Robin flushes flame-red after every trim; Gold Rider brings a luminous gold spray; Blue Arizona is steel-blue and aromatic. For sheer green presence at scale, Portuguese laurel carries the largest, glossiest leaf in the range, while Delavay privet is the fast, forgiving all-rounder and Italian cypress draws the Mediterranean vertical — and opens the range at £245 the pair.

Whichever material you choose, it arrives as a true matched pair — selected together in Tuscany, grown side by side, photographed together before dispatch.