THIS IS AN AMAZING STORY . . . Bishopville, South Carolina is home to the extraordinary and beautiful Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden. Pearl Fryar (an African-American topiary artist) was born in Clinton, North Carolina as the son of a sharecropper. When Pearl Fryar moved to Bishopville in 1976, the three acres that surround his suburban ranch-style home consisted of nothing but flat, barren cornfields. In the early eighties, he began planting and pruning trees and shrubs. Many of the plants in Pearl’s garden were rescued from the compost pile at local nurseries. With Pearl’s patience and skilled hands, these “throw aways” have thrived and have been transformed into wonderful abstract shapes. After two-and-a-half decades of near constant labor, he has transformed his yard into an internationally-known topiary garden that attracts 5,000 visitors a year from around the globe to his living sculptures. Pearl’s topiaries are astounding feats of artistry and horticulture. Pearl Fryar and his garden are now internationally recognized and have been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, television shows, and even a documentary, A Man Named Pearl. Visitors to the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden experience a place that is alternately beautiful, whimsical, educational, and inspiring. Pearl’s garden contains over 300 individual plants, and few are spared from his skilled trimming. His extraordinary topiary is complemented by his “junk art” sculptures placed throughout the garden. Pearl’s garden is a living testament to one man’s firm belief in the results of positive thinking, hard work, and perseverance, and his dedication to spreading a message of “love, peace, and goodwill.” In 2006, the Friends of Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden and the Garden Conservancy formed a partnership with Pearl Fryar. Through this partnership, they hope to preserve and maintain the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden and to further Pearl’s message of inspiration and hope.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 16:19:49 +0000
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