Harper’s Topiary Garden

I was a little bit disappointed that there was no Edward Scissorhands sighting during our visit to the garden, but even without Johnny Depp, Harper’s Topiary Garfein is worth a drive-​by (at least) if you’re in the area. This is a collection of very strange garden sculptures that you can spend a good 10−15min looking at, and it’s located pretty centrally– just east of the 5 and close to the airport. This was one of few spots we stopped at during a date night of strange SD sights (5^th st bridge, spruce st suspension bridge, victorian village, etc.). I think these strange things are definitely better explored as a set (so you’re not expecting too much out of any one thing), and the garden definitely helped round out the list. Although we’ve lived in SD 10+ years, neither of us had been here before, and it may not be a big attraction in and of itself, but I’d say it’s worth a stop! Just don’t expect too much and take it for what it is.

Drove by on Union street and saw a gardener trimming and shaping these figures, amazing job he does. Had a chance to talk to him… he works on this garden about 3 times a week. It is a beautiful garden with a spectacular view down to the bay.

Really, the person who maintains these happy trees must be the most cheerful person in the world. I wonder if they know how they have made me smile with thier cute KeroKero or almost life sized animals groomed and primped to perfection!
It is amazing, the neighbors are so kind to let these creatures adore the hillside here. Smiles, abound!
If you are in San Diego, do stop in to see the topiaries, it will certainly brighten your day. DO remember you are in a sweet neighborhood, don’t climb all up in the bushes and go crazy. Oh ya, and don’t park in the middle of the street like a you know what..

What a letdown. We came here expecting a huge garden were we could all walk in and take photos, but it turns out to be just a backyard of someones house. Not sure what the rave is, I wasn’t even able to identify most of the creations.

Go during the day when the lighting is the best. Sunset isn’t a really good time to take pictures.

This is one of the best places to take someone that just landed at the san diego airport. Its super close and will remind them of Edward scissor hands

This garden was a pit-​stop before I left back home. Don’t get me wrong — I’m a fan of topiaries and gardens, but to call this garden the best-​kept secret of San Diego is a title that I don’t think this location reaches.
There’s an overwhelming amount of topiaries. If you’re a San Diego local, there’s no problem with spending your time trying to identify each topiary. As a SD tourist, I found looking at the topiaries boring as I would rather spend my time exploring what else SD had to offer.
The houses within the neighborhood are nice to look at (on the side with the topiary.) Some of the homes parallel to the topiaries are not as appealing.
I would recommend visiting Balboa Park’s botanical gardens over this, unless you are a huge fan of topiaries.

What could be an ordinary hilly residential lot has been transformed into a vertical wonderland of magically trimmed and sculpted Cape Honeysuckle. Animals, mischievous faces and frolicking figures fill the space and trumps many Botanical Garden topiary I’ve seen.
A wonderfully creative local treasure tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood (please be respectful of that fact).

In a way, I wish that this place was still a «secret» garden. I mean, I get it, we all want to review every single thing we’ve ever experienced (especially if we’re doing the Unilocal 100 challenge) but I wish we just kept this one to ourselves. That being said, the local news recently did a story on this place so I guess the secret’s out.
I love how much time and dedication it must take for the Harpers (and their gardener) to create this little bit of magic. What a mind «Edna Scissorhands» must have to create the various shapes that represent so much to her. I truly appreciate the artistry this must take.
Such a fun little thing «about San Diego.» (Thanks Ken Kramer)

Considered by Thrillist as one of San Diego’s hidden gems, it is a great little area to check out. Do be careful and respectful of the Mission Hills community, because the commute takes you through tight cornered service treats. Weekend are bound to bring in tourists and San Diegans so if you want optimum photo taking, I recommend going during the mid-​week.

A lovely 15 to 30 minute visit for adults and children, guests and San Diego natives alike. Parking was easy, and we found the best view to be across the street to take the expanse in. The more we looked, the more we discovered, so don’t be in a rush to snap pics and then be off… definitely worth taking your time. Be respectful and don’t touch the topiary, or trample on neighbor’s plantings either.

We ended up stumbling upon it, even though we were looking for it. The shapes were a little vague for a lot of them, but still impressive that someone could do so many. We ended up stopping for a little and admiring, and then continued around the neighborhood gawking at houses.

Hidden gem in mission hills. «Edna Scissor hands» (as noted in one the trees) is an artist. The topiary garden is pristine. I can’t imagine the upkeep. Beautiful stop to view all sorts of whimsical characters from elephants, a rooster, a bunny, to shamu.

This is the greatest garden ever. Set amongst splendid homes in a nice quiet neighborhood, it’s always a joy to pass by the topiary garden.

One of San Diego’s hidden treasures!
My friend and I were lucky enough to catch Alex Harper (husband of the artist responsible for the artwork!) and Pedro, the gardener who helps Edna Harper’s ideas come to life!
Some of the shapes represent the places the couple visited — Pyramids in Cairo, elephants in Thailand, etc. There’s also a guy on a surfboard (SD beaches!), a tribute to Edna’s cat Lucy, Mickey Mouse, and many more! I thought it was pretty cool that one was shaped like Pedro, haha.
It was a quick, fun stop in SD. We really appreciated that Alex took the time to give us the story behind this treasure!

While following the directions your GPS provides you may be wondering why you’re being steered away from the tourist attractions downtown San Diego provides. Fear not! Head up the hills reminiscent of those dreaded in San Francisco and you’ve made it.
Plan to spend 10 — 30 minutes here admiring the one-​of-​a-​kind garden you wouldn’t even think would be hiding in the city. Most of the time will probably consist of taking awesome pictures. I mean, why else?!

Forget what I said before in my old post. As far as directions. You basically take the five freeway, take sassafras and a right on vine all the way up
I recently showed off this hidden beaut to my BF and good friend Toonces. While I wasn’t sure BF really got much out of it, I thought Toonces enjoyed taking a look. Thankfully with the time change we had just enough light to get a full look. Half the time I still don’t know what half of the creations are supposed to be, but I appreciate the fact someone can still add a little whimsy to San Diego
It’s not earth shattering, it won’t change your life, but maybe it will give you a smile and something to tell people who know nothing of the place

It’s a whimsical bit of local flavor, and a roadside attraction in its own right.
Other than a peacock here, a spiral there, and a whale with a rather creepy, smiling face, it’s difficult to peg what many of the figures are supposed to be.
They’re like chubby, monochrome figures from a half-​remembered dream. Lots of pointy heads, elephants that melded together, bear-​like creatures with tree branch antlers, obese giraffes with conical necks, blobs of semi-​cuddly, exaggerated monsters that could be from any corner of children’s programming.
Occasionally a face would pop out among the greenery:
Wish I could have met the owner. I would have thanked her for sharing her vision with the world like a Simon Rodia for shrubbery.

Very cool spot in SD. You should see it as you’re coming up the hill. Local flavor at its’ finest… & it sure looks like it gets a lot of maintenance with all the bushy figures they’ve got going on.
To the homeowners and neighbors: Sorry for creepin’ around, but I’m sure you should be used to it by now. Great job to those who maintain it, it’s awesome.
The only thing that sucked was the fact that there was a red car parked in front of the «garden» that ruined all my pics. Blah! I say, paint the curb red! A beautiful masterpiece like this should be photographed without any disruptions (i.e. red car *cough cough*).

Someone decided to transform his/​her hillside yard into an interesting Edward Scissorhands-​style topiary garden for all to enjoy for free.
I’m disappointed that several Unilocalers mention a «lady» or «woman” – presumably the homeowner and/​or gardener – in an unflattering way in their reviews. Why WOULDN’T she step outside to chit chat with people ogling her yard? Why WOULDN’T she want to keep an eye on the visitors? Apparently she has to deal with people climbing on the yard, even though the sign out front («Please Don’t Touch or Climb Hill») is explicitly clear to anyone familiar with the English language.
To be honest I had a tough time making out a lot of the shapes during a visit to the garden a couple weeks ago; I’d say my recognition rate was roughly 50%. Now, though, I’m really admiring the photo that Amy S. posted; the photo’s lighting and from-​across-​the-​street vantage point defintely make more of the animal shapes pop. I like the elephant (s) the most!
Super-​easy to access off the I-​5 and plenty of residential street parking. If you’re in the area, then this little wonderland near the intersection of Union Street and Vine Street is worth a quick stop.