Susana, In regards to "Tip Pruning vs. "Pinch Pruning" I believe the following is what you are asking for. Pinch pruning is when you are physically pinching off new growth while it is still supple. Using the thumb and forefinger frequently pinch back soft growth throughout the growing season this will allow you to avoid future pruning. The benefits and reasons for pinch pruning are to redirect growth and to increase the plant density (if the plant can not grow upward it will start branching outward). Pinching is also used for dis-budding flowers and thinning fruit trees. When you say Âpruning the tip I believe you are referring to the removal of terminal buds which will result in next lateral bud to become dominant on the branch. You want to prune near a lateral (side) bud that is pointing in the direction that you want to train the branch to grow. This is very useful in free form topiary when you have a bare spot in you display which you want to fill in. PS If you have any in progress pictures of your display I would like to see. Hope this helps. Mark

Iseli Nursery is the Home of Living Art. I have toured their nursery several times. There are no words to describe some of the amazing things they do with plants. They work many different forms out of boxwood. They are located in Boring Ore. about an hour outside of Portland. the phone # is 800-777-6202. They ship to most of North America or I am sure they could possibly give the name of a local nursery in your area that they ship to.

I think a sitting cat that is chubby and pyramid shaped would be easy and attractive. You might also want to google topiary forms. There are places to order forms, you may be able to find a hinged one that you can put around your boxwood. Harriet

I'm sorry I can't recommend an ivy, other than to say that a small-leaved variety would look best. The heart-shaped backs will soon be overgrown, though (since they are not filled in, I am assuming that you want to trace the outline only) and you may find it a terrible amount of work to keep this looking the way you want. Consider a boxwood planted at the back of the seat. Take 2-6 leaders to trace the heart and maybe trim the rest to look like a throw pillow or bolster. You could fill in the entire seat with a moss, chamomile, thyme, or a trailing plant. Sounds like it might be cute.