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All the United States South Carolina Bishopville Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

One man's extraordinary topiary garden in a small South Carolina town.

Bishopville, South Carolina

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Lily Landes
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Fryar working on one of his creations.   Pearl Fryar
Abstract topiaries   Duane Burdick/CC BY 2.0
A topiary dragon   Laurel LaFlamme/CC BY 2.0
  Laurel LaFlamme/CC BY 2.0
The artist himself.   tpjohnston039 / Atlas Obscura User
Some of Fryar’s art.   http://www.PearlFryar.com
Some of Fryar’s art.   http://www.PearlFryar.com
Some of Fryar’s art.   Judson McCranie/CC BY-SA 3.0
A fountain built by Fryar.   http://www.PearlFryar.com
Pearl Fryar   Pearl Fryar
  http://www.PearlFryar.com
  rubeodos / Atlas Obscura User
  rubeodos / Atlas Obscura User
  asdonkar / Atlas Obscura User
  asdonkar / Atlas Obscura User
Roadside sign   S Martin / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  asdonkar / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Visitors come from all over the planet to the small town of Bishopville, South Carolina, to see Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden. Since 1981, when Fryar acquired his first yard, he has been working tirelessly to cover it in whimsical topiaries.

It all started when Fryar and his wife were looking for a house. They faced racial discrimination, with white residents from one neighborhood claiming they were worried that a Black couple wouldn't keep up their yard. Once they bought a house, Fryar became determined to be the first Black man in Bishopville to win the coveted "Yard of the Month" award from the local Gardener’s Club.

Fryar started rescuing discarded plants from the compost pile of local nurseries. Though he had no horticultural or gardening background, he taught himself the trade—and with patience, care, and skilled hands, he watched as his plants grew and thrived. Despite advice from local gardeners, Pearl does not use pesticides or fertilizers and rarely waters his plants. And yet, even plants not meant to grow in South Carolina’s climate have flourished under his care.

As his first plants grew, Fryar began using an electric handsaw to transform them into remarkable abstract shapes. He transformed his three-acre property into a surreal wonderland filled with over 300 topiaries, which he tends to daily. His topiaries are complemented by his homemade “junk-art” placed around the garden. It feels like wandering through a coral forest, the kind that Max Ernst painted, or one of those expanses by Yves Tanguy, scattered about with mysterious dollops.

In Fryar’s topiary garden, nature has been riddled with human force almost beyond recognition. Four-foot letters cut in the yard call out: PEACE LOVE + GOODWILL. Even the grass has a booming voice.” The Los Angeles Times writes about Fryar: “Armed with an electric hedge clipper, he goes to work, often at night with the help of a spotlight, a rickety ladder and a jury-rigged lift. He can invest years into perfecting an arch, a spiral, a box atop a sphere or a cone atop a box. Some trees take on the shapes of fish skeletons; others are fantasy forms from Fryar’s imagination.”

In addition to being a topiary genius, Fryar is known for his kindness, dedication, perseverance, and strong belief in the power of positive thinking. Visitors can usually find him trimming his plants or riding his tractor on his property, eager to talk with people about his work or have them volunteer at the garden. He especially loves working with children in his community. One visitor wrote: “The pride he takes in the place is etched in his face, and his passion for his garden is beyond anything I have ever seen. If you’re experiencing a bit of the gardening doldrums, or any kind of doldrums for that matter, go visit this man. He is about as contagious a person as I have met in my life.”

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. That same year, a documentary on Pearl’s life and work was released, entitled A Man Named Pearl. “It may seem that a man who does topiary is an unlikely superhero, but Pearl is a hero to people in his town and people who come to visit him,” said Brent Pierson, who produced and directed the film with Scott Galloway. “His message about how to tend your garden and tend your life is touching people.”

Related Tags

Outsider Art Intriguing Environs Eccentric Homes Racism Topiary Gardens Ecosystems Homes Plants

Know Before You Go

Take US-15 south from Hartsville. At the intersection of 15 and 34, make a right to stay on 15 and head southwest towards Bishopville. Remain on 15 and pass through downtown Bishopville. You will see a John Deere dealership and several other stores on the right; continue straight. When you see the Piedmont Cemetery on your right, begin to slow down. Broad Acres Road is the first right turn after the cemetery. There are small topiaries and signs marking the road entrance. Turn right onto Broad Acres. Proceed on Broad Acres Road. Pearl’s house and garden are on the left. Parking is available on the right. There is a public restroom and water fountain behind the house on the right side.

Community Contributors

Added By

Lily Landes

Edited By

asdonkar, c0rrigan, Collector of Experiences, rubeodos...

  • asdonkar
  • c0rrigan
  • Collector of Experiences
  • rubeodos
  • tpjohnston039
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • S Martin

Published

April 6, 2011

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Sources
  • Pearl Fryar: http://www.pearlfryar.com/
  • Tales From the Microbial Laboratory: "Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden (Bishopville, South Carolina)" (May 2007): http://talesfromthelaboratory.typepad.com/tales_from_the_microbial_/2007/05/pearl_fryars_to.html
  • The Los Angeles Times: "Pearl Fryar, Topiary Hero" (July 2008): http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-pearl24-2008jul24,0,3463056.story
  • Human Flower Project: Evergreen Surrealist - Pearl Fryar: http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/evergreen_surrealist_pearl_fryar/
Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden
145 Broad Acres Road
Bishopville, South Carolina, 29010
United States
34.20577, -80.271013
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

The Button Museum

Bishopville, South Carolina

miles away

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miles away

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bishopville

Bishopville

South Carolina

Places 2

Nearby Places

The Button Museum

Bishopville, South Carolina

miles away

The Last Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken Restaurant

Hartsville, South Carolina

miles away

Woods Bay State Park

Olanta, South Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bishopville

Bishopville

South Carolina

Places 2

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