The topiary farm at night

Thanks for making the Somerville Topiary Farm a reality!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped make the Somerville Topiary Farm a reality. It could not have happened without you! It was a real pleasure to watch our participants work their magic on the trees on Saturday, and it's amazing to see how the space of the square has been transformed by a handful of old Christmas trees--and more importantly, by all of you.

This Saturday

In Union Square we'll be installing the trees! Please come by between 1:30 and 4:30 pm. All the trees are spoken for, but the public is welcome to come and observe the event! The more, the merrier!

Old trees make new art

A new article in the Somerville Journal. Thanks to Meghann Ackerman!

Our tree collection grows

Somerville News

Our first bit of press in the Somerville News. Thanks to Julia Fairclough for helping to get the word out about the project.

Call for Participants!

The Somerville Topiary Farm needs you!

We seek artists, children, gardeners, architects, landscape architects, designers, and other creative citizens to participate in a public installation in Union Square.

All you need is an old Christmas tree and a design idea.

An area of Union Square will be gridded into “plots” for individual action. Each participant’s tree will be installed in the grid in a stand stenciled with the volunteer’s name. Participants may choose to clip their trees, and perhaps even to design and build armatures of wire or wood to attach to the trees, to create new forms and shapes. Once the trees take shape, together we will wrap them in a fabric of a single color.

Individual participation will give rise to the large-scale public spectacle of the Topiary Farm—a tree farm of whimsical shapes made entirely out of repurposed trees—the refuse of Christmas.

The time is now!

Instead of putting your tree out for trash collection, email us at somervilletopiaryfarm@gmail.com to sign on. We will set up a time during the first week of January to pick up your tree. All trees will be stored on site in Union Square in preparation for the event. Spots are limited because of the size of the site, so sign up now to secure your place. If you do not have a tree but would like to participate, we can provide you with a tree.

Installation Day is Saturday, January 23 (snow date: January 24). Show up on site to dress your tree. The community event of making the topiary grid is part of the fun.

This event is part of the ArtsUnion winter sculpture series coordinated by the Somerville Arts Council. The trees will be on display in Union Square along with four other sculptures. There will be a public opening for all five sculptures (date TBD). Each participant will tend his or her tree for the duration of the installation.

How it works

Tree Farm

The Somerville Topiary Farm is a participatory project that takes the most obvious detritus of Christmas—the multitude of dead Christmas trees—and gives it new life. The project engages the public in an effort to generate a secondary formal, aesthetic, and poetic presence for the trees, defamiliarizing their ubiquitous green cones into something unexpected and striking. The result is a large-scale spectacle that transforms not only the trees, but also the space of the square itself.

More topiary forms

Some topiary forms from the 2008 Minnesota State Fair.

Squirrels, rabbits, cows, and a topiary Elvis!

Some images of topiary gardens

Beckley, England















In the Mission Hills area of San Diego















Versailles