Creating from Nothing

A Man Named Pearl is a documentary film about Pearl Fryar of Bishopsville, SC. For 15 years he has been growing a garden of plants discarded by the local nursery and shaping them into topiary that attract visitors from all over the world.

When he began, Pearl was not a gardener, horticulturist, or trained in topiary sculpture, yet this is what he has become through his vision and his passion for his garden.

Pearl came from humble beginnings. He is African-American and the son of sharecroppers. He wanted his garden to be awarded "Garden of the Month" by the local garden club. No black gardener had ever won "Garden of the Month" in Bishopville before. 

That didn't stop Pearl. He worked tirelessly after work every night to train and clip his shrubbery and trees into beautiful sculptural shapes. It took 2 years before one bush had grown enough to be shaped into his first topiary. Today his 3 acres is a lush, peaceful garden of sculptured plants born from his creative imagination. 

Bus tours and school groups come to visit Pearl and his garden. He has been in national magazines and on 60 Minutes, the SC Museum of Art owns one of his topiaries, and the town of Bishopville has planted the downtown traffic median with 8 of his topiary to draw more tourists to the small town. Horticulurists wonder at what he has accomplished because they have never seen anything like Pearl's garden before. 

Pearl continues creating his living sculptures and remembers where he came from. He is particularly committed to encouraging young people to believe in themselves and live into their dreams. He has seen what a vision and committed action has done in his garden. That's what he shares with the world. To learn more visit his website HERE.

Can Pearl Fryar inspire you? What will you are envisioning for 2009? What can you "create from nothing" this year?