It's Just Life

  • Home
  • About
  • Comments for a Cause
  • Tea and Teapots
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Writing
  • Recipes
  • Products
February 16, 2015

A Man Named Pearl (SHINE Series by Jackie Cangro)

38 Comments/ 5360/ 0

Today I am sharing the  second in a series written by talented writer and author Jackie Cangro highlighting people who live out their lives in an extraordinary manner.  Please join me in welcoming Jackie to It’s Just Life and stop over at her blog to say hi there as well. Her first guest post can be found here.

Image courtesy of PearlFryar.com

Image courtesy of PearlFryar.com

Pearl Fryar lives in an average house in an average neighborhood in Bishopville, South Carolina. But tour buses carrying church groups and youth campers visit him regularly. They come from around the world to see his backyard. His garden oasis of topiaries contains more than 300 living sculptures, and it all started with one throwaway plant he found in a compost pile at a local nursery.

Pearl is as unlikely a topiary artist as you’ll find. His father was a sharecropper, and although Pearl was a good student, college was an improbable option for him in the 1960s rural South. Later, when he tried to buy his first house in a predominantly white area, some neighbors grumbled that he wouldn’t keep up his yard. He answered the naysayers by being the first black man to win the local garden club’s Yard of the Month award.

Topiary is not a hobby for people who want instant gratification. Most trees take years to train into the desired shape, usually an animal or geometric figure, though Pearl is partial to abstract forms. To turn a mushroom-shaped tree into a square one, Pearl worked for four to five years. He never uses forms or wire cages to assist in molding the tree. His work is freehand, but he goes in with a vision. “It’s a matter of perfecting it until I’m really comfortable with it,” he says.

Image Courtesy of PearlFryar.com

Image Courtesy of PearlFryar.com

To say Pearl is hands-on is an understatement. He tends every aspect of his yard on all 3-1/2 acres: planting, watering, pruning, mowing, raking, sculpting—he does it all himself. And he’s done it all with no formal training, except for a three-minute lesson at the garden center. Horticulturists are usually astounded at what he has managed to create. “They say, ‘You shouldn’t be able to do that,’” Pearl says, “and I say, ‘I didn’t know that.’”

Pearl’s wife, Metra, could be called a topiary widow, if there was such a thing. He has spent about 70 hours a week maintaining his topiaries for the past 30 years. Before Pearl retired from his job making aluminum cans, he would work in the garden from the time he got home until midnight or one in the morning, often by the light of his riding lawn mower. Metra serenely accepted this calling Pearl felt he had to answer. “I just waited to see what was going to come about,” she says. “When he’s in the garden, it’s man relating to nature.”

The neighbors, however, were a little nonplussed by the goings on in the Fryars’ yard at first. “You could always hear the lawn mowers going, the chainsaws. Something is wrong here,” one neighbor remembers thinking. “But years passed and you could just see the miracle happening.”

The garden is a meditation of sorts for Pearl and for visitors. Some people have made multiple return trips to commune with the topiaries. He doesn’t turn them away, nor does he charge an entry fee. He has a donation box for people who can afford it. “For people who can’t afford it, they are as welcome as someone who put in $100. Sometimes the very people who can’t afford it are the ones who most need to come,” he says. “It wasn’t important to me to create a garden. I wanted to create a feeling that, when you walk through, you feel differently than you did when you started.”

Now in his late sixties, Pearl’s passion has remained strong. Charles Holmes, an arborist, says, “Pearl spends so much time in the garden, he has an almost mystical communion with his plants. He talks with them—he’s almost like a plant whisperer.”

In every cone-shaped shrub, every spiraling pine, every square dogwood tree is the message Pearl is trying to communicate. “There are always going to be obstacles. The thing about it is, you need to be strong enough so you don’t let those obstacles determine where you go in life.”

Image Courtesy of PearlFryar.com

Image Courtesy of PearlFryar.com

Thank you, Jackie, for sharing this wonderful man with us today.  What a gift and what an inspiration he is to all he encounters.  I know I want to make a trip to see his lovely creations and am sure many of my readers will want to do so as well.  Please feel free to visit with Pearl online at his fabulous website PearlFryar.com.  You won’t be disappointed in what you will see there.

Share:
Tags:
Bishopville guest blogger inspirational stories Jackie Cangro Pearl Fryar SC topiary
← Previous Happy Valentine’s Day
Next → Eggplant Love on Teapot Tuesday

Related Articles

  • A Week Off

  • A Semi, Some Cats and Tuna Helper

  • It’s All Natural – Trains and Biltmore

  • “There’s Still Some Left”

  • Three Words for 2023

38 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. The One With the Topiaries | Jackie Cangro
    February 16, 2015 at 06:24 am

    […] thrilled to be able to share Pearl’s story on Beth Ann’s blog, It’s Just Life. Beth Ann also participates in Comments for a Cause, donating money to a charitable organization […]

    Reply
  2. Jackie Cangro
    February 16, 2015 at 06:33 am

    Thank you so much for making this space available for me to share Pearl’s story, Beth Ann. He is such an inspiration, and I’m glad that even more people will be able to see his amazing creations. His passion and dedication is so encouraging.

    I’m also thrilled that this month’s Comments for a Cause organization is Room to Read, a charity I’ve supported in the past. They do important work.

    Thanks again!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 07:34 am

      Thanks so much for sharing, Jackie. You know that I love this series because it is just what I believe in —sharing amazing people and amazing stories. Pearl is nothing short of amazing and I am thrilled to have him featured today. Thanks so much for your willingness to share with me and with my readers. You rock!

      Reply
  3. Julia Munroe Martin
    February 16, 2015 at 07:25 am

    This post made me so happy! I absolutely love reading about peoples’ passions — and Pearl sounds remarkable. Such a unique and exacting activity. I’m an avid gardener but cannot imagine having even a tiny dose of the patience or vision to create his masterpieces. He truly is an inspiration.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 07:33 am

      Julia, Thanks for stopping by. I agree. Isn’t this just an amazing man and the skill that he has is beyond words. I am so thrilled that Jackie shared him with me and with all of my readers.

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 07:49 am

      No kidding, Julia. I marvel at his patience. It reminded me of the patience that we need to have when writing our novels. Little by little it takes shape. 🙂

      Reply
  4. donnahup
    February 16, 2015 at 07:28 am

    Wow! That’s so impressive to me. It’s just beautiful!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 07:32 am

      He is quite talented, I agree. Now I want to go see this, don’ t you?

      Reply
  5. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    February 16, 2015 at 08:10 am

    What a beautiful story about a man who has found his passion in life. His attitude is to be treasured. I would love to tour this place.

    Reply
    1. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 09:35 am

      Thank you for your lovely comment. I am thrilled to spread the word about Pearl’s garden oasis. It’s wonderful that Beth Ann has provided space for me on her blog today.

      Reply
      1. Beth Ann Chiles
        February 16, 2015 at 09:44 am

        I LOVE having you guest post!!!!

        Reply
  6. rudrip
    February 16, 2015 at 08:51 am

    I love that this topiary garden is a meditation for both Pearl and those who visit. Exquisite and beautiful, I do believe that those who visit admire the pretty view, but also take a little something for themselves which they may not be able to articulate.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 09:13 am

      Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today! I loved this story and I suspect you are correct that sometimes it is something that is taken away from an experience that cannot be articulated in words. I love that thought.

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 09:33 am

      I agree, Rudri. I think that visitors take away something for themselves from Pearl’s garden, something they may not even realize. A seed is planted that will grow within them long after they leave. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Lorraine Kleinwaks
    February 16, 2015 at 09:21 am

    Beautiful post, Jackie, about a beautiful soul. (And now you’re reading a beautiful, souful novel, Nora Webster.)

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 09:24 am

      Lorraine, Thanks so much for stopping by and reading Jackie’s post. I love what she shared about Pearl and am loving this series. I am so grateful she has agreed to post on my blog from time to time because it is stories like these that warm my heart and obviously the hearts of both of our readers. Please come back anytime!

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 02:29 pm

      Thank you, Lorraine!
      I’m about 50 pages from the end of Nora Webster. I’m reading more slowly because I don’t want it to end. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Hippie Cahier
    February 16, 2015 at 09:33 am

    This seems to me to be where all great creativity begins: “You shouldn’t be able to do that.” “I didn’t know that.” Nice work, Jackie . . . and Mr. Fryar.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 09:35 am

      It’s perfect, isn’t it? Thanks so much for stopping by! Jackie has the best followers!!!!

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 02:32 pm

      What a great point. When I was including that quote, I hadn’t seen it that way. Thanks for shedding new light on this whole piece.

      Reply
  9. Cynthia Robertson
    February 16, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    His plant sculptures are amazing! I recall seeing this man on TV a while back. He truly is an artist. As an avid gardener, I’ve tried topiary, and it’s not easy to even do a simple shape!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 12:14 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Cynthia. I loved “meeting” this man through Jackie’s words and I am anxious to be able to visit his place sometime, aren’t you?

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 02:42 pm

      It’s hard to imagine climbing an enormous ladder with a chainsaw in the dark of night to coax a round tree into a square one. You’re right, Cynthia. He really is an artist.

      Reply
  10. knace
    February 16, 2015 at 01:09 pm

    What a good story. I’d never heard of this and he’s just a day trip away from me in N.C. I need to put him on my “to visit” list.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 16, 2015 at 01:10 pm

      Isn’t it an amazing story??? Thanks so much for dropping by!!!!

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 16, 2015 at 02:28 pm

      Oh, I hope you get to visit. I’d love to know what it’s really like to be there — to see those trees in person would be amazing.

      Reply
  11. lameadventures
    February 16, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    I first heard about Pearl from a woman I dated last year. She mentioned him, I checked out his web site and was amazed at what I saw. What he’s created is fantastic! I would love to see his gardens in person, but probably not with her. I’d like to visit with Milton.

    Reply
    1. Jackie Cangro
      February 17, 2015 at 09:46 am

      I admire Pearl’s dedication. He works so diligently on his craft. I bet Milton would love these gardens (me too!).

      Reply
  12. TBM
    February 17, 2015 at 07:47 am

    This goes to show that everyone is passionate about something. I admire his dedication, and how lucky that he has a spouse who is understanding. Maybe someday I’ll visit. Nice to see Jackie here. And hi Beth Ann!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 17, 2015 at 07:55 am

      Thanks, TBM!!! Jackie has the best things to share!!!!

      Reply
    2. Jackie Cangro
      February 17, 2015 at 09:44 am

      I love that everyone can find their calling in different things. That individuality is what makes me enjoy these stories. You never know when something will resonate with someone. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  13. Lunar Euphoria
    February 17, 2015 at 07:09 pm

    Super cool. I am amazed by this talent. I can’t even manage to give my box woods a flat top.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 18, 2015 at 07:06 am

      I know! Me, too. I love what this guy has taught himself to do and maybe someday I will able to see it in person.

      Reply
  14. UpChuckingwords
    February 18, 2015 at 05:52 pm

    What an extraordinary man and gift, an artist indeed.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      February 18, 2015 at 06:06 pm

      I agree. I am so thrilled Jackie shared him with us. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  15. pearlsandprose
    February 20, 2015 at 07:32 pm

    What an amazing guy. It is so cool to see someone with such a passion doing what he loves. Nicely done as always, Jackie.

    Reply
  16. restlessjo
    March 03, 2015 at 07:38 am

    What a lovely man! We have one small rabbit topiary growing (very slowly) around a frame, and my husband designs gardens for a living, so you can imagine how impressed I am with Pearl. This is a lovely share. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      March 03, 2015 at 07:54 am

      Thanks so much for stopping by. Wonderful man!!!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Subscribe To Rss Feed
  • 2,256 Followers
  • 2,272 Fans
  • Followers
  • Subscribers
  • Subscribers
  • Follow It's Just Life

Comments For A Cause

  • Ringing in 2023 with Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Conservation at Work

  • Comments for a Cause – A Hand Up. Not a Hand Out

  • Comments for a Cause- Operation KeepSafe® 

  • Comments for a Cause – September 2022

  • Comments for a Cause – More Literacy, Please!

  • Comments for a Cause – July 2022 Edition

  • Comments for a Cause- Giving to Uvalde

  • It’s May – Time for Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Reece’s Rainbow

  • Comments for a Cause – Help for Ukraine

  • Powering Up with Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Cats, Cats, and More Cats

  • Comments for a Cause – Alzheimer’s Association

  • Comments for a Cause – A Roof Over Their Heads

Check Out My Past Posts

January 2023
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Dec    

Text

Follow

Pinterest

Visit Beth Ann's profile on Pinterest.

Beth's bookshelf: read

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
5 of 5 stars
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
by Guy Kawasaki
As always Guy Kawasaki has a great book with great information about all things social media. I highlighted tons of places in this book and it is definitely one that I will come back to time and time again to help me in all of the socia...
Old Girls in Low Cotton
3 of 5 stars
Old Girls in Low Cotton
by Helen Childress
This short book was one that looked like it would be a fun read. I honestly did not enjoy it all that much---it was a lot of characters bickering and while some of the writing was witty and funny it was not that kind of book that made m...
The Good Girl
5 of 5 stars
The Good Girl
by Mary Kubica
I loved this book! It had my interest from the very first page and was my "airplane" book on a recent trip. Author Mary Kubica created believable and interesting characters that the reader learned to identify with and care about. Mi...
All the Light We Cannot See
4 of 5 stars
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
This is quite a book! I had it recommended to me by several people and while I thought it might be a little dark and depressing it made me have a better understanding of what life in this time period was like. The strength of the huma...
An Abundance of Katherines
5 of 5 stars
An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green
Another great book by John Green. I have become a huge fan of John Green since my reading of A Fault in our Stars and this book was another that did not disappoint me at all. It was a story of a child prodigy, a lot of anagrams, and a b...

goodreads.com

Professional Reader
Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2015 It's Just Life, All Rights Reserved.

  • Media Kit, Advertising and Disclosure
 

Loading Comments...