I Was Expecting Animals

It was on a quiet street just off Interstate 20 in Bishopville, South Carolina that we found the garden.  Some friends we met at the gym had told us about it.  It sounded like a good place to spend a Saturday afternoon.  The street was quiet, with ranch-style houses of "70's" vintage. Some of the houses had some strange looking landscaping shrubs. We parked across the street from 145 Broad Acres Road, being careful of the soft earth from a late summer rain.

As we walked across the street, which had no sidewalks, we entered the garden through an arch of some evergreen shrubs. There seemed to be some sort of pattern to the layout of the plants.

"Where are the animals?" Claudette asked.

"The shrubs don't have to be shaped like animals," I said.

"Remember the big bird we saw in Chipping Campden?" she queried.

"Yes, I do.  It had a bird's nest in it. That thing was big; about twenty feet tall I'd guess."

"And Mickey and Donald and the other cartoon characters at Disney World?" she continued.

"Yes, but did you know that Pliney wrote about topiary, the art of shaping shrubs or trees by pruning, in the first century?" I always try to impress her with my knowledge.

"Yes, the Romans had topiaries in their gardens."

We continued to stroll through the garden. The shrubs were shaped into abstract forms.  There were no images of animals or creatures. There were some geometric shapes, cubes, spheres, and unusual shapes but no animals. The plants were seemingly pruned with definiteness of purpose.  No whimsey here.  In the center of this area, which is about 1/2 acre, are eight foot tall letters, filled in with flowers, spelling out: LOVE PEACE + GOODWILL. It would have been awesome from the air.  Intermingled with the topiaries are sculptures.  Here again the creations are almost completely abstract. 

We crossed through a row of sculpted hedges to the next lot upon which sat the owner's modest ranch style house. As we wandered through his backyard we were enamored by a sculpture of musical instruments, horns actually. From behind  a row of high shrubs I heard a voice saying, "Don't get many people from Texas. Y'all come back now!" As we walked through an arch in the wall of shrubs we saw a man on a Gator utility vehicle. He was a big man dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans.  Much to my chagrin he wore a Carolina Gamecocks baseball cap! Approaching him I asked, "You must be the man?"

"I am, and where are you folks from?"he asked.

"Goose Creek, near Charleston," I said.

"Thank you for coming," he said. 

He was Pearl Fryar the creator of the topiary garden. We talked with him and found out that he began the garden in 1981 in what was once a corn field. Almost all of the shrubs and plants were discards from nurseries.  He said that he just has a general idea about what he wants the plant to look like when he begins pruning. The image or work evolves as he works. He explained that he had been on television and that the garden was internationally known. Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden, Inc. is a nonprofit organization in support of the garden. He said the organization provides scholarships.

1. As a former teacher this caught Claudette's interest. He said he wanted to help the "C" students. Pearl said that everyone looks out for the good students who test well, but he's concerned about those students who don't do well on tests. The topiary artist is very passionate about this. We chatted a bit longer and were joined by some folks from Ohio. As we excused ourselves, he asked if we had brochures. At our negative response he threw the Gator into gear and was gone. He returned quickly with brochures for us. We left the man named Pearl in the hands of some folks from Ohio and exited through the driveway to his house.  We had a "Eureka moment" and realized that we had entered the garden without going through the entrance. 

The Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden is a delight to behold and well worth a visit, if you go don't go to the address on the website, 145 Broad Acres Road Bishopville, SC, because that is incorrect. It is 165 Broad Acres Road. Don't fret, though, because you can't miss it.  Also, it is best enjoyed on a day without the temperature hovering around ninety degrees, or so I would believe.