Featured Speaker: Michael Gibson - Topiarist
Michael P. Gibson is a world-renowned, self-taught topiary artist and founder of Gibson Works LLC, with over 30 years of experience transforming public and private spaces through living sculpture. Born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, he discovered his passion for shaping plants early in life, developing a signature “illusion topiary” style that blends geometry, symbolism, and storytelling.
In 2019, he left a successful corporate career to pursue topiary full-time. Since then, he’s been featured on HGTV’s Clipped with Martha Stewart, served as artist-in-residence at the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden, and received honors such as the APGA Garden Scholar Award and the U.S. Botanic Garden’s Sowing Excellence Award.
To date, Gibson has created over 600 topiaries across the country—each one a celebration of nature, form, and imagination. Through lectures, demonstrations, and Topiary Therapy workshops, he inspires a new generation of artists and gardeners. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife and two children.
Website: gibsontopiary.com
Instagram: @gibson_works
Top 3 Favorite Gardening Books: The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession by Amy Stewart, The Night Gardener by Terry Fan, The Art of Creative Pruning by Jake Hobson
