What does your topiary say about you?! Creating spaces for “who you are”….

Humans feel great when they’re in a place that they think conveys who they are and what’s important to them—and also when they’re in spaces that seem to clearly tell other people’s stories—something we’ve discussed in this article, for example. All of that conveying and telling need not involve any actual words, however, as a recent article on topiary animals in people’s front yards makes clear.
Isabella Kwai (2024, “You See a Hedge. He Sees Something Else.” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/world/europe/london-hedge-animals-art.html) reviews topiary sculptures that Tim Bushe creates in his front garden and in his neighbours years. She reports that “Mr. Bushe, 70, an art college graduate and architect, has built many things during his long career, from schools and shops to homes and offices. But it may be his mischievous hedges scattered around north London that intrigue the most. ‘I realize how much joy they give,’ said Mr. Bushe, who donates his hedge-cutting earnings to environmental causes. ‘They lift the urban streetscape in a very positive way.’ . . . the journey from flora to faux fauna requires patience, persistence and the luxury of time. Mr. Bushe starts with initial cuts to shape the hedge. Then, it must grow. It can take three years or more before the pruned-down hedges take on their final shape. ‘I could end up with one ear, for instance, and have to wait years for the other ear to grow,’ he said.”
Bushe’s hedges are a tourist attraction—and no wonder—we like to understand the people we’re amongst. Choosing to live among sculpted hedges certainly says something intriguing about the personalities of people living near Bushe.