We have a number of shaped box trees in our garden. The ones in the lower, more formal, garden are quite well established. They are either a sphere or conical shape and although I would not have necessarily chosen them I do like them and they set a french styling for the garden. We also have a number on the slope up to the pool, but we have not been shaping these so they are a little more natural looking. Then finally there are a few smaller ones by the pool, which are also shaped.

Across France, there are some beautiful french gardens that are full of box hedging or topiary, which look stunning. A few examples I’d love to visit are; Les Jardins d’Etretat, Normandy; Marquayssac, Dordogne; Villandry, Loire. We have visited Villandry so far, which I loved, but will plan to visit the others.

Unfortunately last year, during the hot weather. whilst we were not able to visit the house, some of our box trees were infested by a small butterfly (papillon), commonly known now as the box tree moth. It lays its eggs in the bush/tree and the caterpillars and moths eat away at the leaves. We had a few that were quite badly munched!

The moth originates from Asia, but was first discovered in Europe in 2007. They have been more prevalent in the UK since 2011. I think it’s because box trees have become more popular, especially in urban areas where their size can be restricted and their unique shapes can be easily maintained.

Initially I set about spraying them with an insecticide, which did help to kill off some of the butterflies that were living on the plants. I then needed to get brave and trim off all the dead branches and leaves, that were the result of the infestation. Once that was done I could then start feeding the plant to try and encourage some new growth, but it was quite late in the season so they were reluctant to do much. What we also needed to do was to kill any further moths that may have survived the spraying. We did this by hanging up a contraption near to the plants that effectively acted as a trap and had poison in it. None of that sounds very nice, but we really did not want to lose the plants. It was then a waiting game to see what was going to happen after winter.

The time has come around again when the moths become active. They are not pretty little coloured butterflies that you see flying around, they are tiny brown ugly looking moths. We have refilled the trap, trimmed the plants and fertilised them. The good thing is we can see new growth coming through where I’d cut them back, and they are starting to look like we may just be able to recover them - time will tell. For now I will keep up regular nourishment and keep them clipped to encourage more growth, and wait to see.

The box tree moth

Very good friday

Mr Blue sky