Introduce yourself…
I’m Tim Bushe and no its not a nickname, my name is actually Tim Bushe. I live in North London and am better known as the @hedgecutterman which is fairly descriptive of what I’ve been doing.
What do you do?
I’m an architect by trade. I studied at the Royal College of Art and did things like sculpture and thought there’s no reason why cutting hedges is any different.
What sparked your curiosity in hedge-cutting?
It was my wife who started all this. She wanted the hedge outside of the front door in the shape of a cat instead of a normal rectangle. I thought that sounded a bit challenging, so I started with a steam train which is a much simpler shape. But, after my wife’s prompting, I ended up cutting my neighbour’s hedges into the shape of cats. So basically she got her cats and could sit in the living room and look across the road to see them.
What’s your favourite creation?
The last one I did from scratch was a reclining nude woman inspired by Henry Moore down on Holloway Road opposite the Odeon Cinema.
Which was the hardest one to do?
Probably the elephants on Ambler Road because they were so big, they’re like 20 foot high. I don’t really want to add to those unless I get some willing assistant who’s able to do it. Then the two cats were the next hardest because there’s a squirrel on the end. I got a bit bored of doing cats all the time.
How have people responded to your work?
Well, it’s pretty amazing really. They’ve became sort of vague landmarks, in fact Google Maps actually mentions the elephant hedges. I came back the other day and the Brompton Cycle Club were all outside the cats and they were taking photographs of all the other guys standing with their bikes in front of the hedges. They were delighted when they clocked me so I got a photo with them all.
If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?
Simon Rattle, he’s a brilliant conductor, musician and he’s a genuinely lovely man.
What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn ?
I am relearning the piano at the moment. My grandmother was a piano teacher and organist and failed to teach me. I promised myself that if I had a decent piano, I would practise every day to get to the point where people won’t run out of the room when I’m playing.
The two cats were the next hardest because there’s a squirrel on the end. I got a bit bored of doing cats all the time
In what ways would you like to see London change?
I decided that rather than just do it for my own amusement, I’m fundraising for the more pressing cause, environmental issues, so I’m basically now raising money and funnelling it towards Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Friends of the Earth and Exile People who are really concerned about climate change.The amount of pollution that hedges absorb, they are very good sort of absorbers of CO2 from lining the roads so it would be quite nice to raise a bit more awareness about that.
What is your London secret?
Well, the new River Walk, which is very nearby to where I live, is not terribly well known, they’re actually working on it at the moment. I have a golden doodle dog and this is my default walking spot in the evening like now after I finished talking to you, I might go give him a walk because it’s nice and less populated.
What’s next?
I think I would do another kind of figurative one, but basically more like the Henry Moore one. Lots of people like them but don’t realise that each one I do is quite a commitment really, I have to cut them three times a year because they’re all in a unique shape.
Who is your local hero?
I’ll tell you, I think he’s a local hero and he lives just down the road from me. Harvey Brough is an absolutely wonderful human who runs the community choir singing called Vox Holloway. He was popular in his earlier life (with his band Harvey and the Wallbangers), his compositions have been played all over and then he set this choir up where he does brilliant stuff. He writes his own music and holds events to raise money for charity. He is a fantastic community asset and that is why he is my hero.
