An Islington man has raised more than £4,000 for charity after offering his services as a garden sculptor, creating birds, elephants and even an Arsenal Cannon around the borough.
Architect Tim Busche (65) created the elephant topiary masterpieces on the corner of Ambler and Romily Road in 2011, but decided to branch out by offering his trimming services for charity.
Tim decided to fundraise for Hft, a national charity which supports people with learning disabilities and their families, as they look after his younger sister Martha.
Explaining how the charity cutting will work, Tim said: “You donate £200 for the first design and major shaping cut, then pay at least £75 for follow up cuts on each visit. Usually it takes about three years for a mature shape to appear.”
He added: “You get a unique hedge that will be the envy of the neighbourhood and people will smile a lot as they walk by.”
The topiary elephants won ‘Best Small Neighbourhood’ at last month’s Islington in Bloom awards as part of the Blackstock Triangle Gardeners display close to Finsbury Park station.
His other projects include a Gruffalo, not to mention a hippo and chicken in Tufnell Park.
Tim’s creations were also features on the BBC’s ‘Great Garden Revival’ last year.
Tim hopes to reach his target of £5,000 raised for HPS as soon as possible.
