When I saw this topiary garden on gardendesign.com I thought Salvador Dali had been resurrected and was living in Costa Rica.  The landscape designer Evangelisto Blanco has been clipping these magical hedges in his own garden in the mountains for over 50 years now, a lifetime's commitment to this difficult form of gardening.  I have a personal preference for strong architectural forms in the garden and this magical landscape takes clipped box and privet balls or cones to a whole new level.  Blanco also hangs hand written signs in the space with messages like 'perservere and you shall succeed' and 'no one is better than another'.  I agree with his sentiments entirely.  I was planning a trip to New York next year but now I've seen this... ticket to Costa Rica please!

Images by Jamie Royer, Brian Costales and Matt Griess via Flickr

Garden warfare

Artist Pete Dungey has turned his hand to a spot of guerilla gardening to highlight the problem of potholes and surfacing on roads in the UK.

'If we planted one of those in every hole, 

it would be like a forest in the road'

Quirky and slightly twee but it would certainly make me smile if I were to see one of these minature gardens driving through Edinburgh.  They would still need an element of maintenance though, you can call The Fifth Room for that one!  Images courtesy of inhabitat.