The Art of Topiary

Railton would be a town that no one’d ever heard of – if it wasn’t for Neil Hurley. In 1999, he came, saw… and got his scissors out. Before, he says, “there was no reason you could think of to stop here (Number of inhabitants in 2009: 900) ” Now Railton “is put on the map” and people come from far and wide to admire theis miracle. Even the BBC visited and did an interview with him in his Magic Fibre Optics shop (That’s where the music in the background of our talks stems from).

More then 50 topiaries sit in Neils backyard, more than 600 decorate the streets and gardens of the town. Scrubbily or crew-cut, they sit, lie, lean or stand along the buildings and walks.

The interview is here on soundcloud.  And the plant used for these beauties is mostly the Box Honeysuckle (Lonicea nitida).

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