Living art honors historic steamship journey at Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum
SAVANNAH, Ga. —
Most of us trim the shrubs hoping they look even. Michael P. Gibson has something a little more ambitious in mind: an ocean voyage.
The nationally acclaimed topiary artist is making waves—with garden shears instead of a boat—at Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in downtown Savannah.
Gibson recently completed his “first cut” for “The Voyage,” a living art installation that will transform greenery surrounding the historic Scarbrough House into sculpted waves.
“I wanted to make these look like waves and ripples in a storm,” Gibson said. “To showcase in the shrubs and topiary, the form of the sea.”
The installation pays tribute to the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. As the greenery grows and Gibson continues shaping it, visitors will get a sense of that journey without stepping aboard a ship.
“Eventually you’re going to see these curves come up a lot more, these undulating curves, you’re going to be able to see these grooves and be able to really feel the sea,” Gibson said. “So when people walk around, I want you to feel like you’re in the boat and you’re surrounded by the sea.”
His signature approach, known as the Gibson Method, combines geometry, symbolism and storytelling to turn trees and shrubs into living artworks. For “The Voyage,” his influences also include the museum’s ironwork and the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern reflected throughout nature.
Gibson has created more than 700 living sculptures in the United States over more than three decades, bringing his approach to more than 25 states through lectures, workshops and demonstrations.
“I always knew I was going to create something, I just had to find the right medium. And over time I just never stopped,” Gibson said. “So for the past 33 years, I’ve been doing topiary and sculpting trees and shrubs all over the country.”
Beneath the carefully shaped curves is a bigger idea. “The Voyage” is also a metaphor for life, with its journey expressed through waves and living greenery.
As The New York Times recently observed: “For Michael P. Gibson, topiary art isn’t just clipping branches. It’s a life lesson.”
For Gibson, the goal goes beyond creating something beautiful.
“I want to keep striving for is keep producing more topiary, because the more topiary in any given space produces more love and more peace,” he said.
“The Voyage” officially debuts at Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in May 2027, with lectures, workshops and a garden party. Visitors can see the work taking shape in the meantime—a garden adventure that is, quite literally, still growing.