Memories of the Happy Conifer
Experiencing the joy that only a shrub with a face can provide.
I was browsing through my photo album today when I discovered an old photo that I’d shot on film back in 1999.
The photograph was of a topiarised specimen of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, which I Christened the “Happy Conifer“.
The shrub grew in the the front garden of a house in Vermont South. Seeing it again, a smile immediately came to my face, not just because of its appearance, but because of the story that lay behind the Happy Conifer’s creation.
The Happy Conifer in Danielle Court, Vermont South. Photographed by the author in 1999.
As you can see from the photograph, the conifer had been clipped into a lovely big face, complete with bristling big eyebrows. Standing on the corner of two streets, it almost appeared to have a personality of its own.
Despite its jovial appearance, it is the story behind this topiary’s creation that I find most interesting. For the Happy Conifer was in fact a happy accident of sorts.
The owner of this property (whom I don’t know personally) appeared to be very keen on growing conifers. In fact, his entire garden consisted of hundreds of different species, all beautifully trimmed into neat shapes. Sometimes I would see the owner trimming his plants, standing atop a trestle that he’d especially erected for the purpose.
Clearly, I was not the only person who’d noticed his dedication to horticultural art, because someone with a more devious motive made a decision to do some topiary of their own.
The Happy Conifer is born
One Sunday morning when I was passing by, I noticed there’d been a sudden change in the landscape.
Maybe it was drunken Saturday-night prank? Maybe it was just a dare or an act of coniferous jealousy? Whatever it was, I quickly noticed that someone had passed-by under the cover of darkness and hacked a giant face into the conifer. Appreciating the effort that went into this garden, I felt somewhat sorry for that poor man who spent all the time clipping his plants. Yet at the same time, I have to admit to being somewhat amused because it really did look funny.
I was expecting that the gardener would probably let the face ‘grow out’ and write it off as a nasty act of vandalism. But instead, it seems he may have been amused too because rather than disappearing, the face underwent some ‘plastic surgery’ over the next few years. Slowly it was transformed from a few crude shapes into a piece of sculpture!
Obviously, I was not the only resident curious to watch the transformation. Another local resident went to the trouble of submitting a photo to the Burke’s Backyard magazine in 1998. Norma Shaw’s image, reproduced below, clearly shows the Happy Conifer during its transitive years.
A photograph of the Happy Conifer by Norma Shaw,which appeared in Burke’s Backyard magazine in 1998.
After many many years of amusing Vermont South residents, the Happy Conifer met its demise not too long ago, in a storm. It has since been removed. Having myself moved away from the area, I have no idea whether the same people still live in that house in Danielle Court, Vermont South.
Nevertheless, having brought a smile to my face, I thought it only reasonable to spread the joy to others; the sort of joy that only a shrub with a face can provide.
Comments
3 responses to “Memories of the Happy Conifer”
A very pleasant blog indeed. As usual,the reading was full of interest, and looking at the “face” which appeared in Burke’s Backyard, the added extras over time were all improvements -especially those eyebrows. Thanks for the story.
haha, Love the name.
I’ve just found this – and what a nice find it is. Thanks for sharing your story about the Happy Conifer. Garden whimsy is a wonderful way to enrich the lives of those around us.
Ed