A PENSIONER said people always stopped and stared at his garden after he created an incredible artificial hedge.
David Hawson, 74, bought a dilapidated cottage in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, with his wife Susie almost 50 years ago.
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To keep out stray cattle and wild animals, the couple – who hate fences – decided to plant a hedge instead.
Over the years, they noticed that their 3-inch-tall yew seedling was starting to look more and more like animals, so David decided to give it a helping hand.
Since then, he has transformed his drab outdoor space into a magical oasis, with tributes to Moby Dick, birds and even himself.
The painter told BBC Scotland News: “The house was dilapidated and therefore had no garden.
“Because we were in the middle of the country, there was a risk of cattle getting in. We both don’t like fences, they do give a visual signal that you want to keep them out.
“We bought tiny seedlings, not realizing that we would be doing some topiary on them.
“It got bigger and bigger as the hedge got bigger. Sometimes we’d look out the window and think, ‘Oh, that looks a bit like a bird,’ and we’d help him along.”
Now David has been crowned Best Hobby Gardener at the Henchman’s Topiary Awards ceremony in London, with his designs described by organisers as “a testament to the creativity and skill to be found across Britain.”
The elderly man said he likes it when nature “suggests” a form for his creations.
His designs include a selection of birds, self-portraits of himself and Susie and Captain Ahab’s shop, the whale and the fish from Moby Dick.
Despite their complexity, David says they took him just two days to make.
And he loves the reactions the public gets to his garden.
“There are people who have never seen it before who still stand there and laugh, and I like that,” he said.
“Gardeners often take life very seriously, and in this case it is exceptionally silly. That makes me smile.”
