Today I continue my quest in creating and posting one block a day of the fabulous That Town And Country Quilt by the lovely Susan Claire. This is day one hundred and seventy-eight of that project.

This quilt block shows three topiary plants in pots against a blue background. Each pot is a polka-dotted orange/maroon while the plants themselves are of one large ball and one small ball. The greenery is a dark green with a spiral stitching inside. — Click To Enlarge

When I was a little girl, I called topiaries “poodle trees.”

I had a french poodle at the time, and my mother would cut, shape, and shave the poor embarrassed dog into something called a “lion cut.” I still think they resemble topiaries.

It is widely believed that a friend of Emperor Augustus (sometime in the first century) endeavored to create a sculpted bush for Augustus’ amusement. Thus the first topiarist (I’m not kidding) created the first topiary!

Topiaries grown in pots so that they can be moved from room to room or inside to outside are very popular. And very expensive.

That is because of the time it takes to convince a plant to be a topiary. They must be 3-4 years old before the first trimming, although some training for the growth can take place before that.

Shaping continues several more times in subsequent years before it is sold in a retail nursery.

I hope the plants are happier than my poodle used to be.

Whenever she got a haircut, she would put her head under the dust ruffle on my bed, presenting her rear to the world.