I read that article. The thing that captured my attention was that the hedge maintenance got rather poor in the deeper recesses of some of the mazes. Trimming it is one thing. Cleaning up the clippings in there could be traumatic. Not my cup of tea.

I have seen a maze done to nice effect with Liriope.

Yes, I know, amazing!

==>>> an amazing maze design.. booooo ... lol

ken

can you link the article?

A quick search for Adrean Fisher/portfolio will explain more.

Above Christopher mentions the problem of cleaning up trimmings from the interior of a maze. Been there. Done that.

My childhood playground contained a replica maze of the one in England at Hampton Court. It was constructed by Cornelia Warren on her 200 acre estate, Cedar Hill, located in Waltham, Ma. She later deeded the estate to the Girl Scouts of America. You might want to research that history.

We lived there for some time and my job was to pick up the arborvitea trimmings inside the maze which were cut several times a year. A tough job for an elementary school kid. I remember it well.

The article is in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/29/how-the-worlds-foremost-maze-maker-leads-people-astray

Sorry for the slow response, and thank you, Bookwoman, for providing the link.

What I found most interesting was how the author interviewed various researchers who study human reactions to getting lost. The apparent allure of mazes is they're a safe way to experience the feeling of danger. I've been lost in a wooded, wilderness area, and it's not something I care to experience again. As the article points out, no one dies in a maze.

Nandina, I laughed to myself when you mentioned your job picking up clippings. The article ends with Mr. Fisher giving a demonstration to the author on hedge trimming at his home maze. His wife responded: "He just trims everything and leaves it for the minions to clean up. That's me."

"As the article points out, no one dies in a maze."

Then they haven't read very many British murder mysteries!! Mazes are a popular setting for homicide :-)

This is cool, thanks for sharing.

I was thinking of The Shinning

Very cool. I've been through a couple Adrian Fisher designed corn mazes in the US that were a lot of fun.

A corn maze is called a maize maze over here.

There is a delightful coffee table book written in the 1980s, about, IIRC, mazes in general, but perhaps mainly about hedge mazes. Maybe by the person the article is about. (no time to click and read) It was available in the Fairfax Co. library system and I checked it out several times as a teen, I'm sure. It was fascinating to read of their topographic complexity. Without designing "islands", it is impossible to create a maze you can't 'solve' relatively easily. (albeit, perhaps not quickly)

I dutifully planned to have a hedge maze in the English Garden I dreamt that I would design and build as an adult. Alas, I'm just lucky enough to have time to have a garden with some "English" plants in it, period! I am actually creating my first formal hedge, but it will be a very small affair.

EDIT: ok I couldn't resist clicking on the link...that surely has to be him. I'd been debating for years about trying to find a used copy of his book - fuggaboutit now! (sub-edit A: actually, found a cheap used copy on amazon!) That's ok I already have more garden related coffee table books than I could ever finish reading. I do use them for reference.

EDIT 2: that article has some classic New Yorker shade: The entrance to Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, on the grounds of the ancestral home of the Marquess of Bath, is one of the more depressing sights that modern England can offer. On a Tuesday in September, under cement-gray skies and the occasional spit of rain, stony-faced families queued for hot dogs, fries, fudge, and rows of portable toilets, recharging in between rides on a miniature railway, visits to a plywood “medieval” adventure castle, and the chance to gawk at some bored-looking gorillas.

EDIT 3: (spoiler alert!) sorry to read the maze at Longleat was 'dumbed down'. The bridges that were removed are what had added to the topographic complexity. FWIW, the Governor's Palace at Williamsburg has a hedge maze I succinctly remember running through as a kid.

“A corn maze is called a maize maze over here”

Now THAT is fantastic. Lololol.

David, in HS you were checking out library books on mazes? That is…amazing! I tended to be immersed in Mad Magazine during those years, which explains a lot about me.

I thought the author was fairly blunt in her personal dislike of Mr. Fisher. She left quotes, hints, and direct shots at him throughout the article.

I could be wrong about this, but are mazes typically designed with a single species? Hampton, (developed in 1690), originally had hornbeam, which was later replaced with yew. It would be interesting to see a maze with a variety of plants, but might almost impossible to effectively design and maintain.

Yes, usually single species. I think, as a practical matter, broadleaved evergreens are usually best suited for the role. The one in Williamsburg, VA...surely the only hedge maze I've been in, in my life... is made with hollies. It's interesting that, apparently, one of the only others in the states is also in VA: https://www.americanway.com/articles/corn-garden-mazes/

The maze in Hawaii looks like a doozy!

The beech ones in the UK seem like they would need a lot of clipping, as that is quite unambiguous a tree. Unless they were made with grafts of a slow growing cultivar like 'Ansorgei', which would be extravagant even by English standards.

I thought the author was fairly blunt in her personal dislike of Mr. Fisher. She left quotes, hints, and direct shots at him throughout the article.

I feel like that's part of the New Yorker (both, the magazine, and the peoples of the Earth) shtick, which is why I alluded to it as related to her description of Longleat. Clearly, it was intended to be 'delightfully withering' if there is such a thing, which apparently there is. If you want to understand certain New Yorkers, in my opinion, you need look no further than arguably the most famous cover of New Yorker magazine, ever.

Yup, grew up in NYC. That cover is definitely spot on.

The beech (and hornbeam) used in hedges here are the plain species. They usually get two cuts a year. Perhaps they get a few interim trims in a very formal maze.

A little hedge trimming isn’t an obstacle😉

So for posterity, my understanding from the book I read in high school is this: "single level" (2 dimensional, obviously) mazes can be solved by just holding your right (or left) hand to the hedge and always following the path that would form. It might take you a long time, but you are guaranteed to explore the entire route of the maze and reach the goal and/or escape. If bridges or tunnels are incorporated, however, the maze will now instead become de facto "3 dimensional"...and the follow your hand trick will potentially leave you stuck in an infinite loop, circling the same route forever, at least until David Foster Wallace returns from the dead and writes a novel about your plight.