Clip Joint Turns Plants Into Artwork

You won’t find pigs, horses or apple trees at the Nelson family farm in Woodburn, Ore., but you might find leafy versions of the real things.

The Nelsons’ topiary business, which has a nationwide clientele, is lined with neat rows of nursery pines transformed into green rhinos, bushy cactuses and leafy deer, their bestselling design.

“They really fascinate people,” said Todd Nelson, who helps run the business with his brother and father on their several-hundred-acre Bountiful Farms. “Ever since we started making them, people are always stopping by to ask about them.”

It’s not only locals who have noticed the whimsical work. Michael Jordan ordered a bull; Oprah Winfrey bought a custom-sculpted apple tree.

The tree-turned-art pieces are priced at $90 to $500 wholesale; they retail for nearly twice that.

On any given day, a half-dozen employees are in the fields bending, wrapping and snipping 10 acres of evergreen arborvitae and moonglow junipers to make creations that range from fish for seafood restaurants to statues of baseball players.

“These guys who do the work are artists,” Nelson said. “We encourage them to experiment with shapes and styles.”

Marcos Contreras, a migrant worker who makes some of the pieces, has no formal training but said he loves his job. “Elephants are the hardest, because they have ears, tusks and a long nose,” he said.

It takes about six years to grow an arborvitae to the 5-foot height that’s right for topiary.