The Chimerical Cultivations of Mr. Pearl Fryar

 In Bishopville, S.C., is the eccentric garden of Pearl Fryar, self-taught topiarist.

 Mr. Fryar's horticultural handiworks trim the three acres surrounding his home at 165 Broad Acres Road.

Stymied by his job as a maintenance engineer at a soft-drink can plant, he carved an outlet for his creativity through shrubs and trees, many of which had been rescued from the compost heap of a local nursery that had considered them too sick or ugly to sell.

 He began snipping, nipping and clipping his living sculptures in 1983.

 The Fishbone Tree, a Leyland cypress that is considered Mr. Fryar's signature creation, was planted in 1989.

Nearing 71, Mr. Fryar and and his wife, Metra, built their home in 1980, and the at-first everyday, garden-variety shrubs around it were his inaugural project.

The Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization, intends to preserve this exceptional garden in perpetuity.
To look at other exceptional sights in the area, visit: Curiosities in the Carolinas