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Any idea how to start a maze?

Cecelia-LCecelia-L Posts: 109
in Garden design
Hi all, 
I want to plant a maze in the back garden surrounded by deciduous trees. 

Does anyone have any experience in designing and planting a simple maze? If so what type of material/plant did you choose? 

Thanks  
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Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    I've seen some great example of sunflower mazes. A maize mze would be fun too. With either of these, there would be the upseide that you could use the results.




  • Cecelia-LCecelia-L Posts: 109
    @fire I like the direction of seasonal maze such as maize and sunflower, though I am quite certain I won’t have the manpower to pull it off. 
    Perhaps flowering meadow/grass meadow maze? 

    I have mistakenly sown too much rye grass, which loves the soil condition, they can grow up to 5ft by the end of summer. I suppose I could mow a maze pattern through that. 

    Any experience with more permanent maze such as those with yew/beech etc? Also, any ideas/books about how to design a simple maze? Some of the medieval ones look quite elegant and simple. 
  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    How big an area are you thinking? I'm not sure a big yew maze would need less heft than a sunflower maze... 
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 2,931
    If you are able to have a look at some of the NT or RHS gardens, either personally or online, it may give you some insight. There must be some info available somewhere ?
    Much depends on the area of ground you have but if you were to begin with something like sunflowers or other annuals to get an idea of the layout, you could then seriously look at using hedging and get bare root to plant in the Autumn. What you choose will obviously be dictated by your site and location but there are other possibles beside yew and beech.  
    Sounds intriguing so best of luck  :)
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 83,797
    edited June 2022
    Google ‘grass labyrinths’ and ‘turf mazes’ … an ancient Celtic ‘meditative walk’ … there are some very beautiful ones … and a stone one in the floor of Chartres cathedral. Just a few of them here

    … https://wingrutland.uk/the-maze/

     https://www.thetravel.com/turf-maze-labyrinth-britain-where-to-find-them/

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Cecelia-LCecelia-L Posts: 109
    Amazing ideas thank you all. 

    I am all for the idea of mowing the pattern first then proceeds to planting annual and eventually evergreens.

    The space will be at least 30m by 30m. 

    I like the idea of a classical labyrinth or a medieval one. But the kids are keen to have a maze to get lost in. 

  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    edited June 2022
    Cecelia-L said:


    The space will be at least 30m by 30m.

    Very cool! Please do keep us posted. A mown  - short wild flower/turf labyrinth would beautiful. I think if you used tall wild flowers they would risk collapsing into the paths.

    I think a lot of the same advice that you got for the large flower bed, goes for the maze too - loads and loads of research, see it as a long term project, try a small area first to learn on.

    You seem to be very into classical, formal styles. If you want Irish yew (as you said) one big question would be watering 900 squ mtrs of new trees. You'd need to develop a hard core plan for that alone. Again, I would say, speak to experts. There will be topiary maze designers out there and consulting them (and least talking to them) might well save you a lot time and a huge amount of money and tears.

    This isn't to pour cold water on your plans. You have the space and the budget to create these classical forms. On the whole, I would expect that the large gardens that have/had knot gardens and 180m3 new borders from scratch would usually have a team of designers, gardeners, under-gardeners and builders to create them.


  • Cecelia-LCecelia-L Posts: 109
    @fire
    It’s true that the more I look into it the more complex it gets. Should I have the entrance facing East as most ancient labyrinth do? Or should I simply create a fun little maze for the kids to run about? Part of the garden hasn’t been mown since beginning of May so it’s perfect for me to test out the ideas. 


    I have finalised the layout of the flower bed. To me it looks pretty good from all sides and includes a focal point of a bird bath/bench. I have incorporated softer lines and curves with the stepping stone paths. Now I am trying to figure out plants placement and seasonal interest. I have already planted a evergreen wind breaker as Fairy girl suggested. My beloved peonies are happily growing by the wall. I am hoping to be able to post updates on the original thread soon. 

  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    Cecelia-L said:
    @fire
    It’s true that the more I look into it the more complex it gets. Should I have the entrance facing East as most ancient labyrinth do? Or should I simply create a fun little maze for the kids to run about? Part of the garden hasn’t been mown since beginning of May so it’s perfect for me to test out the ideas. 


    I have finalised the layout of the flower bed. To me it looks pretty good from all sides and includes a focal point of a bird bath/bench. I have incorporated softer lines and curves with the stepping stone paths. Now I am trying to figure out plants placement and seasonal interest. I have already planted a evergreen wind breaker as Fairy girl suggested. My beloved peonies are happily growing by the wall. I am hoping to be able to post updates on the original thread soon. 


    Trying out an easy mown maze/labyrinth sounds like a great idea. Just be super careful not to mow any wildlife that might be living in the grasses. There might well be frogs, toads, newts, small mammals, insects etc living in there. Can your kids help you?

    Yours are good questions - there's lots of research for you to do to find out what will suit you best. There is a rich and fascinating history and legends behind maze and lab building and their power - often used for finding the answers to questions. Is there a Harry Potter angle? 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 83,797
    Another possibility for constructing a maze would be a fedge … 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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