the word derives from the latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener. a friend of julius caesar introduced rome to the topiary. in japan and china they have “cloud pruning” where they cut bushes into the shapes of clouds and “karikomi”, where they cut large shrubs into curved shapes and objects. bonsai is a form of topiary. during the 16th century in europe, typical traditional topiary included geometric shapes: balls, pyramids, cones, and spirals. in the 20th century, walt disney used topiaries in the form of his cartoon characters to decorate his theme parks.