A 94-year-old Honolulu woman finds joy in topiaries she’s tended since the 1950s

Visitors to May Aoki-Higashiguchi’s home are first greeted by animals in her Japanese garden.

All the animals are topiaries — bushes trimmed into distinct shapes — made mostly out of mock orange shrubs. Their presence and the maintenance needed to keep them there are impressive.

Aoki-Higashiguchi, who turned 94 on Aug. 31, started her hybrid Japanese topiary/rock garden in 1955 and has worked tirelessly on it ever since. She has spent decades slowly manipulating the shrubs to grow into their proper animal shapes.

Video by Mark Ladao