24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Sculpting Trees, and Teaching Patience and Focus
Topiary, the practice of training plants into defined shapes, might evoke fantastical scenes from 'Alice in Wonderland' or the formal gardens of Versailles. Michael P. Gibson believes its lessons extend well beyond the aesthetic.
'Topiary forces you to learn how to be patient, because once you're trimming, you have to wait for that new growth to happen,' he explained from the top of a ladder propped against a 20-foot holly tree. 'I teach people that doing topiary can reduce anxiety. It helps you to stay focused.'
In other words, it's healthy for the plant and the human.
To that end, Gibson focuses on educating and serving communities (he holds a certificate in therapeutic horticulture). In Columbia, S.C., a capital city of about 140,000, he's creating a sensory garden at a neighborhood park. He also spends time traveling to take on new installations and maintain existent sculptures.
The prospective clients who approach him — whether they found him through his online presence, word of mouth or his 2021 appearance on the HGTV competition show 'Clipped' — tend to give him creative freedom, since they're aware of his distinctive style.
It's built on what he calls 'the Gibson method,' which has five approaches: storytelling; sacred geometry, which brings balance and harmony to his sculptures; the Japanese style of pruning called niwaki, opening up a tree to reduce energy and create structure; illusion; and directional trimming. (Like brushing hair, trimming in one direction allows for a smoother look.) All five need to be present for the design to be a Gibson creation.
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