It’s a project that has been years in the making for an Aberdeenshire artist who decided he’d rather have a hedge than a fence.
Everything started when David Hawson planted three-inch yew seedlings at the entrance of his garden.
And now, after decades of hard work, the Monymusk painter has bagged one of the most prestigious gardening awards in the UK.
The 74-year-old was crowned winner of the Home Gardener Category at the Henchman’s inaugural Topiary Awards in London on Saturday, July 6.
The masterpiece is Mr Hawson’s garden hedge, which features different birds and marine creatures, including a scene from Herman Neville’s Moby Dick.
Monymusk hedge a better option than a fence
Mr Hawson, who is known for his paintings of Scottish landscapes told the Press and Journal: “My wife and I never liked fences, which make such a visual statement of ‘keep out.’”
“We thought a yew hedge would be a friendly and aesthetic way of stopping passing cattle from trampling the flower beds.”
The history of the magnificent Monymusk hedge
Mr Hawson, who moved from Yorkshire to the Aberdeenshire village 50 years ago, explained that at the time of planting, he “had neither the intention nor the skill to do topiary.”
However, as time passed, he and his wife Susie noticed that bits of uncut hedging had the vague appearance of a fish or a whale.
“It must have been around 25 years ago when I started to help what nature suggested.” the painter said.
An avid reader, he explained that the story of Moby Dick is represented on the right of the hedge’s central arch.
He described: “The gentle curve of a wave touches the stern of Captain Ahab’s ship, the Pequod, on the deck of which stands Queequeg, the highly tattooed South Pacific islander who is poised ready to harpoon the great white whale from whom appears a spout of water as he prepares to dive.
“In front of Moby Dick, a huge fish leaps out of the water and in the depths, a shark lurks.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the arch, having run out of topiary ideas for serious Victorian novels, the hedge is composed mostly of British birds.
There is a blackbird, a cockerel, a tawny owl, a pheasant, an osprey and a very long-tailed duck.
David Hawson and his wife Susie represented in the hedge
Towards one end of the hedge, there is man standing, holding out his hand to display his avian creations.
Mr Hawson explained that he started to create this human-like figure when he could not decide what to make of some uncut bits of yew.
He said: “As I was trimming the hedge one day I asked a passer-by what she thought the unclipped piece might be.
“She misunderstood and picked up a bit of hedging, rubbed it between finger and thumb and said: ‘It’s yew.’”
“‘Of course it is.’ I said and turned my shears to make ‘Me in Yew’”.
At the other end of the hedge, David’s wife Susie is represented, however, he describes it as “work in progress”.
“It will probably take another five years before looking less like Les Dawson doing an impersonation of her,” he joked.
But it is not just the hedge that has topiary animals, as the whole garden is filled with animal figures.
“In the rest of the garden there are a couple of rabbits, an owl, a pig, some salmon, a hen, a mouse, a hedgehog, a goose, a hare, a duck, a snail, a dove and a basking shark,” he revealed.
Mr Hawson “really enjoyed” his trip to London for the awards.
He also shared he is very excited about the prize, a Henchman ladder.
He said: “I will now trim my topiary without wobbling on my old ladder at a great height.”
