Bear topiary
A bear topiary is a heavy, rounded animal that reads well at close range — sitting, standing or on all fours. Built on welded galvanized steel and finished in moss, live boxwood or outdoor foliage, they are used at lodge and cabin entrances, in parks, and anywhere the mass of the animal is the point. The rounded shape is forgiving in live material, because there is no thin section to keep alive through a winter.
Made in our own workshopWelded, galvanized and covered here — not drop-shipped.
Ships across US & CanadaSmall pieces by UPS, large ones by freight with delivery quoted.
Built to outlast the foliageGalvanized steel under everything, including the welds.
4–10 weeks for a commissionReady-made pieces leave sooner; we tell you which before you pay.
In the workshop now
4 bear pieces, from $30.
How it is finished
The same bear, four ways.
Every piece starts as the same welded, galvanized steel frame. What goes over it is the choice.
Mass is what makes a bear work.
A bear is one of the few animals that is more forgiving in live material than in moss, because there is no thin section anywhere on it. The body is a mass, the limbs are thick, and live boxwood clipped into that shape has no delicate part to lose over a hard winter.
It is also an animal that has to be met at close range. A bear at an entrance or a lodge door is looked at from a few feet away, which means the surface matters more than it does on a piece seen from a road — and it is the reason we tend to build them sitting or standing rather than running.
Live boxwood pieces are in live boxwood topiary; see care instructions for what clipped live material needs.
What it needs once it is standing.
A mossed piece wants misting through dry spells and a refresh of the moss every year or so. A bare frame wants nothing at all until you decide to plant it. Turf and artificial pieces want an occasional rinse and no more — no watering, no trimming, no seasonal work.
The steel underneath is the part that decides how long the piece lasts, and galvanized steel outdoors is measured in decades rather than seasons.
Full instructions by material are on our care pages; if a piece has gone tired, this eight-year-old swan shows what a restoration looks like.
In the workshop
Steel first, then green.
Three of the six stages every piece goes through. The frame is the sculpture; everything after it is surface.
02Steel rod, bent and weldedSteel rod bent by hand and welded into a cage that carries the pose. Anything over six feet also gets steel tubing run inside it.
03Galvanized, welds includedGalvanized over every surface including the welds — which is exactly where outdoor steel fails first.
04Sphagnum packed by handLong-fibre sphagnum packed into the cage by hand and bound down, so the piece is green the day it arrives.
The full sequence — drawing, welding, galvanizing, mossing, planting and installation — is set out step by step in how a topiary form is made.
Before you order
Bear topiary questions, answered.
What sizes do bear topiaries come in?
From sitting pieces around a metre tall up to standing bears well above head height. Every listing gives its exact dimensions.
Can it be live boxwood?
Yes. A bear is a good shape for live material because the mass is forgiving — there is no thin section to keep alive.
Standing or sitting?
A sitting bear suits an entrance or a doorway. A standing bear needs space around it and a proper footing, because of its height.
Will it survive winter outdoors?
The frame will — it is galvanized including the welds. What survives on top depends on the finish: live boxwood clipped to shape handles a bear well because there is no thin section, and moss prefers shelter.
Can you match a species?
Black bear, brown bear and cub groups are all commissions we have built. Send a reference photograph.
Other animals we build
Bunny topiary · Dinosaur topiary · Dog topiary · Horse topiary · Elephant topiary · Deer topiary · Swan topiary · Giraffe topiary · Frog topiary
Something bigger?
Tell us the animal and the size.
Send a photograph or a sketch with the height you need and where it will stand. We come back with a design, a price and a delivery date — then build it in our own workshop.
