This is a cloud hedge in an English neighborhood in the Cotswolds. An undoubtedly English (and old) boxwood, it’s a planted work of art.

 

We have 22 types of boxwood grown tiny to huge. Please call if you need a particular variety.

 

The American Boxwood Society proclaims boxwood as man's oldest garden ornamental.  Leaf and fruit fossils from boxwood have been found in more than 20 separate locations throughout Europe, some dating back 22 million years.  The first known use of boxwood occurred in 4000 B.C. when the Egyptians clipped it into formal hedges for their gardens.  In 1000 B.C. Homer wrote of boxwood used as yokes for the stallions driven by the King of Troy, and charcoal remains of boxwood have been recovered in England, dating back to 2,000 B.C.  The furniture in Tutankhamen's tombs was of a tropical boxwood variety

 

The first planting of boxwood in North America is believed to have been by Nathaniel Sylvester who built a manor on a Long Island plantation in 1652.  Although the dense, heavy wood has been used for many practical purposes in the past, boxwood is primarily used as an ornamental, bringing a sense of quiet simplicity, peace and stability to the garden.