How to commission a maze
• Walk the landscape with your maze designer. Discuss your family history, the themes that connect you and the passions you have today
• Select a well-drained space of at least 100sq ft or so. Flat ground is easiest, perhaps with a slight slope for better water run-off. You may wish to incorporate natural features, such as mounds or streams, into your design
• If hedges will dwarf the property, consider a turf maze (a path cut into the lawn), a boulder maze through woodland or a paved maze in a courtyard. Ask yourself if you’d like the property to look out onto the maze, says Adrian Fisher, or if you’d prefer the maze further afield ‘so that it becomes a magnet and draws you through the landscape’
• For planted mazes, factor in the time needed for the shrubs to fill out—typically about three to seven years, although some deciduous species can be ready in a matter of months. Mr Fisher recommends selecting shrubs that grow locally as they are most likely to thrive. ‘The yew bush is the queen of all materials, if it will grow,’ he says. ‘You only clip them once a year, they hold their shape and look fantastic.’ Green beech and hornbeam also work well
• Work with what you’ve got, advises the designer, recounting the Duke of Marlborough’s claim that the 1991 Blenheim Palace maze in Oxfordshire was created for only £103, as almost all the materials were foraged from the estate. ‘The thrift really appealed to him,’ Mr Fisher recalls
• Check whether you need planning permission and factor architectural drawings, materials, soil preparation, labour and maintenance into your budget. For an entry-level outlay, try a temporary maze formed of hay bales or bricks. Add value by introducing moveable walls or hedge gates, allowing mischievous owners to alter the solution on a whim