
LOUISE: Dances help bring in money to pay for those stupid topiaries you want in the quad.
Topiary is the art of clipping evergreen trees and shrubs into clearly defined shapes as a part of landscaping grounds. Common plants used for topiary are box, conifers, laurel, holly, myrtle, yew, and privet. Topiary dates to ancient Roman times, declined in the 18th century, but was revived in the 19th, and became part of what we consider the “classic English garden”. The style was later adopted by wealthy upper-class Americans for their gardens. [Picture is a topiary garden in Newport, Rhode Island].