Have your camera ready as you find the 17 different topiary creations featuring favorite Disney Characters.

Topiary is the art of creating sculptures using clipped trees and shrubs. The word derives from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, topiarius, creator of topia or "places".

The production of shrub topiaries involves constant clipping, corrective pruning, tying, and weeding as well as regular irrigation and fertilization. In order for the plant to fill in the entire frame, it must be gently pulled, tied, and pruned to train it into the unusual pattern of growth which is needed to fill in ears, tails, umbrellas, wings, and so on. Once the figure has matured, pruning is done three inches from the frame. Corrective pruning involves removing unnecessary branches to prevent woody stems and trunks from showing through the frame and to remove girdling branches and roots. Shrub topiaries are clipped every week during the growing season and every two weeks during the remainder of the year. Care is taken to assure that the integrity of the original design is always maintained.

After the figures have filled in they are kept in shape with shears, hand clippers, or electric grass shears. It is important to be familiar with the plant material you are working with in order to know which method is best. For example, some materials will "brown out" if cut with electric shears while others show no browning at all.