Yes, You Can Grow One of These Enchanting Potted Topiaries

Have topiary (and eclipse glasses), will travel.

Ken Selody, of Atlock Farm, put out the word in January: He had researched the path of totality of this week’s solar eclipse and considered optimal viewing possibilities. In early April, he planned to be Texas-bound.

“If I drove my van full of topiary through Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas,” Mr. Selody, who is based in New Jersey, asked on Instagram, “are there people or shops that would be interested in having me stop?”

This is how the popular topiary artist, whose longtime clients include Martha Stewart, rolls these days in his high-top white Nissan. Yes, the nursery is open for retail sales on Saturdays, but Mr. Selody also makes house calls.

His busy spring schedule includes shows like the Trade Secrets plant and antiques fair (May 19) at Lime Rock Park, in Salisbury, Conn., and the Ladew Topiary Gardens festival (May 4) in Monkton, Md. But his “away” schedule has expanded — and not just in pursuit of eclipses.