The Manchester Flower Festival is an integral part of this exciting city, many important landmarks and streets are enhanced with blooming flowers and vibrant colours.
The festival is always popular in Manchester, even more so with it being the first big event of 2021… and it didn’t disappoint!
Agrumi designed and created an artificial baby giraffe and elephant to be placed in Angel Meadow Park. The topiary were within budget, required no maintenance and provided an Instagramable opportunity for visitors to the event.
The pictures that were shared on social media platforms were a huge hit and really became a stand out feature within the city.
We at Agrumi love to be part of such events and create topiary features that stand out for others to enjoy.
Could your town benefit from some topiary sculptures? Just get in touch!
Agrumi were thrilled to be asked to support Linney – the creative production specialists in marketing- with their launch of Peter Rabbit's topiary tour at the start of the summer holidays, ready for the film’s release.
The promotion of the feature involved creating a 3 metre tall rabbit in a similar pose from the film, made from artificial boxwood for the body and specially ordered light blue artificial grass for Peter’s denim shirt jacket on top of a green base.
It was crucial that the sculpture was able to be moved around multiple locations including Manchester’s Trafford Centre, the Bullring in Birmingham, London’s Olympic park and Brighton beach. The base was specifically designed with a compartment for weights, meaning they could be easily removed when travelling and weighted down once in place, for security.
Topiary Peter proved extremely popular for families to take photos including stars of the film and celebrities such as Imogen Thomas, who posed with her daughters at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, recreating his cheeky pose!
Could you promote your upcoming event with some topiary sculptures? Just get in touch!
With the importance of butterflies and our environment being so prevalent, Agrumi were delighted to be asked to help Paddington’s Business Improvement District (Paddington Now) with their plans to create a butterfly friendly garden in Norfolk Square.
Agrumi made 2 large butterfly sculptures for the garden project, which not only are bright and beautiful, but they also help to attract pollinators. The body and wings are wrapped in Star Jasmine plants; their fragrant white flowers are rich in nectar, which is ideal for lots of bees and butterflies.
The wings of the butterflies were created with coloured dry moss. Agrumi produced the wing formations stuffed with dry moss and added the paint in the two colour schemes that the BID selected. We think the colours on the butterflies look great together and hope that visitors to the garden agree!
The BID is working with ‘Big City Butterflies’ to encourage more butterflies into the area and will monitor the numbers over the coming years. It has brought about a butterfly count in the garden during July and August 2021, as part of the Butterfly’s Conservation initiative.
You can read more about the entire Norfolk Square Butterfly garden project here
Could your town’s BID benefit from any topiary sculptures? Just get in touch!
Agrumi have created a metal sculptures range created especially by their head topiary artist, Luigi Frosini. These mainly include British animals such as Roe deer, Sheep, Hares and Pigs. Inspired by the natural world around him, Luigi endeavours to create lifelike animal sculptures.
A while ago, Burford Art Gallery approached Agrumi about making a Metal Horse for a display. (Burford Art Gallery is part of Burford Garden company, an Oxfordshire based Garden shop. They ‘love things that are a little different', so we think we’re a great match!)
This enquiry soon evolved into a series of regular orders of animal sculptures, and now Agrumi has an entire range based on these Metal Animal Sculptures by Luigi Frosini.
Having worked closely with nature, Luigi can create realistic 3D forms made of steel, whilst capturing the personality of each animal and character perfectly.
These are made from annealed steel wire, which naturally turns a rusty brown colour when left outside. We are able to add a lacquer coating, or paint to the sculpture, to help prevent oxidisation, if you prefer this finish.
A selection of these was exhibited at The Chelsea Flower Show 2021, as part of Agrumi’s New Forest exhibition stand.
These are all available to buy from Burford Art Gallery, we can take commisions for custom orders, or you can buy them online from our webshop TopTopiary.
Agrumi were approached by Apex Graphics, an exhibition design company company, to create a topiary logo for their client.
Their client was Acer, the computer IT company, who required their logo recreated in topiary for an event.
We recommended the artificial topiary options, as these are great for events and shows. It means you can move the topiary around easily; they don’t require any watering and are lightweight and durable.
They went for four 60cm high freestanding letters, which can be moved around individually, covered in artificial boxwood. This material creates the effect of a boxwood hedge, with a complete covering of artificial leaves.
Could your company or event benefit from a topiary logo? Contact us for a chat!
Living Plant Screening, Arches, Panels and Espaliers
Agrumi designs and creates Bespoke Garden Features from their custom made topiary workshop.
We start by building a steel framework in the style and size of your choice. We then train the plants’ stems, branches and foliage over the framework.
We are able to create the structure to your design specification.
Living Plant Screening
Living plant screening is usually a row of panels covered in plant foliage, which act like a hedge, in the fraction of the space. These are especially popular in urban areas where space is at a premium. These are made to measure, so that they fit perfectly in your space. A group of panels make great instant screening. Instead of using a tall fence to create privacy, plant covered panels create a soft looking screen that also lets light in
Unlike a wall or fence, a hedge filters the wind and calms it, which leads to improved air circulation and the formation of a sheltered micro-climate. In the garden, this gives better growing conditions as a result of warmer soil.
Arches
Archways can really add the 'wow' factor to a garden, as they lead you into a new area of the property, or frame a particular view of the garden space. Arches can be made with flexibility on the width and depth.
Could Agrumi help you with a Bespoke Garden Feature? Contact us for a quote!
Panels
Panels can be used singly or in a group to create a screening effect. You might want to hide an unattractive feature. We don't all have great views from every window and a screening panel can block the view of rubbish bins, washing lines, compost heaps, or ugly buildings. This is particularly useful if you need a high screen, when the cost implications of walls and fences becomes even more persuasive in favour of a plant covered panel.
Espaliers and Pleached Trees
Metal frameworks can even be secured onto trees, to create a pleached effect. This is a really popular option for those that want to add height to an existing fence. A group pleached trees offers extra privacy, almost acting like a hedge suspended above the fence line. A benefit of choosing a pleached tree over a very tall fence, is that you do not lose the light, while benefitting from more privacy.
Your choice of plants...including Star Jasmine and Eleagnus
Our most popular choice of plant for our Garden Features is Star Jasmine – Trachelospermum jasminoides. Star Jasmine is an evergreen plant, so it offers a full coverage of leaves throughout the year. During the Summer it is covered in white flowers, which boast an amazing fragrance. Walking through an archway made from Star Jasmine is a lovely way to experience the smell! It is great for pollinators too as the flowers are rich in nectar, which is ideal for lots of bees and butterflies.
Other plant choices include Eleagnus, which is also an evergreen plant. The leaves will stay in place all year around, so you'll have the screening effect in all seasons. The leaves mature to a lustrous green, but always retain their silvery undersides. In autumn, very small, but well-scented, creamy-white flowers open, filling the air with their delicious perfume. The foliage makes an excellent backdrop for showier ornamental plant. It is fully hardy that also tolerates shade, dry soil and salt-laden coastal winds.
Planting a panel of Eleagnus creates an instant hedge effect in a fraction of the space.
Could Agrumi help you with a Bespoke Garden Feature? Contact us for a quote!
Ted Baker is a well-known British luxury clothing success. Trading for over 30 years, the company now has stores around the world.
They first approached us in early 2018 for help with a photo shoot and we made them a topiary French Bull dog that went on to feature in one of their advertising campaigns.
The feedback was so positive that a year later they came to us again for some giant topiary ‘TB’ letters and a custom chair in artificial boxwood. Our Head topiary-maker used to design and make chairs so this commission couldn’t have been in better hands.
As you see the finished ‘furniture’ is elegant and eye-catching. Perfectly matched to Ted Baker’s own style.
Could Agrumi help you with a Topiary sculpture? Contact us for a chat!
Having worked with Channel 5 in 2015 when we made a topiary crown for Celebrity Big Brother, the company came to us again in 2019 with an urgent commission for their new ‘Great Gardening Challenge’ show.
With only a month to go before the press launch at London’s Garden Museum we were brought on board to design and make a super-sized Channel 5 logo. We love a challenge!
A quirk of the Channel 5 logo’s design is its deep indentations and tight curves. We decided to use artificial grass on a boxwood plinth to better display these features and ensure that they showed up clearly in photographs and on film.
Everyone was happy with the result and even the great Nicki Chapman and Diarmuid Gavin were happy to pose with the final result.
Agrumi’s reputation is built on producing quality products against tight deadlines. Companies trust us to deliver with no compromise on design excellence or detail.
We are proud of our ongoing relationships with many long-term clients that return to us time and again to meet their PR ambitions.
Could your logo be tranformed into a topiary sculpture? Contact us for a chat!
Cath Kidston approached us to make them a few artificial boxwood animals for their window display in their Piccadilly store.
Their store has been fitted out with lots of hints of foliage: an artificial grass rug, plants on the shelving units and several leaf covered panels for displaying their accessories. So our artificial boxwood product was the perfect match to compliment their theme.
We made them one 6 foot high Tyrannosaurus-Rex and two ginormous frogs. They were covered in artificial boxwood, which is UV resistant, so they are able to stay in the windows for a long period of time, without fading in the sunlight.
They have used the T-rex as a prop to integrate with the shop’s products and mannequins.
Could your window display benefit from some topiary decoration? Give us a shout!
Sunday 27th October 2019 marked one year since the helicopter accident that claimed the lives of the late Leicester City Chairman (Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha), staff members Kaveporn Punpare and Nusara Suknamai, and pilots Eric Swaffer and Izabela Lechowicz outside King Power Stadium.
We were asked to produce three topiary sculptures for the memorial garden built on the crash site – one fox, one elephant and one horse.
The fox was chosen as the club logo is a fox and it was covered in ligustrum. The elephant was chosen to give a nod to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's Thai heritage and that, as well as the prancing horse, was covered in star jasmine.
The club hosted a private multi-faith ceremony on 27th October 2019, at the garden, exactly one year after the helicopter crash that killed Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and 4 others.
We worked flat out to produce and deliver all the animals so that they could be planted before opening day.
After the opening day, the present CEO requested for the elephant’s pose to be changed. We happily accepted the elephant back at our workshop for alteration. We adapted the elephant’s head to be facing upwards, so that it had a more lively appearance.
Leicester City Chief Executive Susan Whelan said about the garden: “…something peaceful, something poignant and something beautiful, where supporters of today and of future generations can remember what one man’s vision did for this Club, this community.
“The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Garden will be the latest in a series of lasting tributes that will form part of Khun Vichai’s legacy.”
If we can help you with some topiary sculptures please do get in touch!
