When you grow trailing or climbing plants indoors, it is important that you stake them successfully to create an attractive display. This can be done in several ways, using bamboo canes, moss poles, topiary frames, or hoops made from garden wire.

Tabletop topiary, which involves training plants around a w .re support, is fun and easy to do, and you can create lots of interesting shapes. Start by selecting a evergreen plant with dense compact foliage and pliable stems. Ivy is ideal because it is fast-growing and comes in many attractive forms with silver, white, and gold markings.

It also grows easily from cuttings, making it an excellent choice for growing over topiary frames where several plants are needed. Simply snip off short lengths with some roots attached and plant them around the edge of a container. Another good foliage plant, is the miniature creeping fig (Ficus pumila), which can also be obtained in variegated forms.

Many flowering plants can be encouraged to grow around hoops and frames. The wax flower (Stephanotis floribunda) is easy to train around a hoop and carries the added bonus of beautiful, scented white flowers. Another scented flowering plant that will quickly cover a trellis or pyramid is Jasminum polyanthum, with its pink tubular buds that become white as the flowers open.

Once you have selected your plants, decide what shape you want to train them. There are lots of commercial wire supports readily available from nurseries and garden centers. You can choose from spirals, hoops, columns, and wreaths. If you can’t find one the correct size, try making your own from a wire coat hanger.