Restoration
The Eight-Year-Old Swan
An outdoor boxwood swan came back worn after eight years outside. The foliage was finished; the frame was not.
PieceOutdoor boxwood swan
LocationOur workshop
Age8 years outdoors
MaterialsOutdoor boxwood over galvanized steel
OutcomeRestored, not replaced
The brief
Outdoor foliage is a wearing part. After eight years of sun, wind and rain this swan had gone thin and faded in the places weather reaches first, and it looked every day of its age. The armature underneath had not moved.
That is the whole decision. Replacing the piece means paying again for the sculpture — the welding, the shaping, the profile that makes it read as a swan. Restoring it means paying for the green and the protection, and keeping the part that took the skill.
A piece worth restoring is a piece that was built properly first. The live boxwood range is where these start.
Strip the green, keep the sculpture.
In the workshop
How it was built.
Every piece starts as a welded frame and is finished by hand before it ships.
Strip it back
The old foliage comes off entirely. Nothing is patched over: partial coverage is what makes a restored piece look restored, and it puts new material on a surface that is already breaking down.
Treat the steel
The bare frame is cleaned and given a galvanized metal spray — it stops rust, stiffens the surface and gives the new foliage something sound to sit against. This is the step that decides whether you are doing this again in three years or in eight.
Re-foliate by hand
Fresh UV-rated outdoor boxwood goes on by hand, following the original contours. The shape is already in the steel; the work is covering it evenly so the piece reads right from every angle again.
A strip and re-cover is only possible because of what is underneath — the galvanized frames sold bare in wire frame topiary.
The steel is the expensive part. After eight years outside, it was the only part still fine.
Restore or replace
Why it was worth saving.
Restoring reuses the frame you already paid for, keeps a custom shape that may not be reproducible, and puts nothing in landfill. If you own an outdoor piece that has gone tired — ours or anyone’s — it is worth asking before you replace it. Call 866-306-1020 and describe what you are looking at.
Specification
What it’s made of.
- Frame
- Original welded steel armature, retained
- Prep
- Old foliage stripped completely; frame cleaned
- Coating
- Galvanized metal spray against rust
- Foliage
- UV-rated outdoor boxwood, applied by hand
- Warranty
- Five-to-eight-year no-fade rating on the new foliage
- Lifespan
- This piece ran eight years outdoors on its first coat
- Upkeep
- None beyond occasional cleaning
- Applies to
- Any of our outdoor pieces — balls, spirals, animals, custom work
From the same workshop
Where does a piece like this come from?
The same frames, foliage and finishes that built this one — sold ready-made or commissioned to your drawing.
Planning something like this?
Tell us what you’re picturing.
Send a photo or a sketch with your dimensions and date. We come back with a design, a price and a delivery date — then build it in our own workshop.
- 4–10 weekstypical build time
- Any scaletabletop to 40 feet
- US & Canadashipping and install
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