Branching out

TREE SCULPTORS AND LEAF BARBERS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATING THE CRAFT OF TOPIARY SINCE BEFORE THE TIME OF CHRIST. REQUIRING SPECIFIC SKILLS, THESE CREATIVE GARDENERS IMPRESS THE PUBLIC BY POLLARDING THE NATURAL WORLD INTO UNNATURAL SHAPES. THERE ARE PLENTY OF EXAMPLES OF THEIR HANDIWORK ON DISPLAY IN PORTUGAL

Words: CAROLYN KAIN

THE ROMANS were the first to document the fashion of cutting trees and shrubs into fantastical shapes. When not commanding troops abroad, Julius Caesar, who had a key role in the conquest of Portugal, was intrigued by topiary. It was introduced to him by Gaius Calvinus who spoke of ‘Topiarius’ the ornamental gardener. In turn, Caesar and other wealthy Romans popularised topiary from Italy across the Empire. We can be almost certain that the gardens of stylish villas like the one in Milreu near Estoi were adorned with low parterre hedges, geometric orbs and botanic obelisks.

When the Roman Empire ended, so too did most aspects of pleasure gardening. People living in cities were sheltered behind walls for protection. They had other more serious issues to be concerned about and topiary would have been regarded as a frivolous waste of time. Only monks and nuns continued to trim their herbs and courtyard hedges. Topiary was mostly forgotten and its roots lay dormant for around 900 years.

Back in fashion

It was during the Renaissance in Italy that geometric topiary made a fashionable comeback. In France, the gardens of Versailles were an extravagance of symmetry, and in the Netherlands a new twist was introduced. As well as cones, globes and pyramids, gardeners manicured complicated figures such as animals, furniture, tunnels and pavilions. They trained hedges into labyrinths and mazes and across Europe many large estates copied the example. By the middle of the 17th century, the Dutch, and especially their gardeners, had established a reputation for horticultural excellence.

It was around this time in Portugal that topiary emerged as a form of garden decoration. It progressed rapidly especially in the north of the country with wealthy families creating striking compositions to surround their homes. An unparalleled example is the Casa do Campo in Molares. It has an entrance way consisting of two monumental cylinders carved from Camellia japonica. The garden contains some of the oldest camellia trees in Portugal estimated to have been planted 250 years ago. It is one of the only places in the world where camellias have been used to form arches. Other unusual features created from vegetation include full-size summer houses and sun umbrellas cleverly cut to resemble their real-life counterparts. The gigantic scale of the topiary rivals the grandeur of the house with its Baroque architecture.

A similar Baroque masterpiece, the Solar de Mateus – pictured on bottles of rosé wine – has a garden filled with fresh foliage shaped into arches, scrolls and arabesques. A tunnel of cypress trees forms a grand walkway and from there long lines of hedges radiate into an open aspect.

Other examples where garden-artisans use their skills to prune vegetation into prescribed shapes are the Casa de Juste in Lousada, the Parque de Serralves in Porto and in the Algarve, Estoi’s Palace garden. Open to the wider public – even to nonresidents – the gardens, which are arranged on three levels, resemble Versailles in style.

All of the previously described gardens are manicured to such an extent that they might not be to everybody’s taste. Famously, in a satirical essay written by Alexander Pope in the 18th century he longed for the picturesque rather than looking at fashionable gardens filled with topiary. He mocked the appearance of deformed figures adversely affected by the English rain! Picking a plant that suits the climate conditions is paramount.

Planting to prune

Holly, Yew, Boxwood, Hebe, Phillyrea and Pittosporum all lend themselves to topiary. Better still – here in Portugal for beginners looking for quick results – a pot containing Prunus lusitanica ‘Angustifolia’ – Portuguese laurel is a suitable starting point. It’s a tough plant with glossy darkgreen leaves that does well in sun or part shade. Because of its compact growth it shapes neatly into topiary balls. Selected by the Royal Horticultural Society for an Award of Garden Merit, a row of Portuguese laurel bushes planted close together can easily be shaped into blobs to make what gardeners refer to fondly as a ‘blobbery’!

Topiary can be fun!

Nowhere is this more evident than at Disney World and the Epcot Centre’s International Flower and Garden Festival. Held annually, it features Disney characters old and new. To create a replica of any cartoon character requires a team of artists and horticulturalists. It starts with a ‘Disney Imagineer’ who designs a maquette figure and 3D models. A skilled welder makes a frame, an irrigation expert adds watering mechanisms and then gardeners fill the frame with earth and plants. The operation requires a lot more expertise than a pair of shears and a vegetative dream!

In the Algarve, using some similar techniques but entirely different materials, the Sand Sculpture Exhibition in Porches is worth a visit. It continues until 17 November.

Portugal is the 11th largest home textile exporter in the world. Towels, tablecloths and sheets are produced here. And blankets! A whole world of Portuguese blankets.

The most famous is the Burel blanket. Burel is a resistant and durable fabric made from 100% sheeps wool and was traditionally used to make warm blankets and shepherds capes.

A road trip through Portugal brought us to the heart of the country and the Serra da Estrela Mountain Range - the birthplace of the Burel. Here the grass is greener and the air is crisper and vast numbers of sheep are grazing.

At the beginning of this century the knowledge and culture of making the Burel blanket was almost forgotten, the weaving factories abandoned and most of the old machines were standing still as the world had been spinning too fast for handcrafted textiles.

Then in 2006, a Portuguese couple from Lisbon fell in love with the breath-taking scenery of the Serra. They bought and revived one of the old weaving factories, keeping the old machines from the nineteenth century, and installed a new generation of weavers who had been taught by the elder loom masters. Together with a generation of young designers, a whole world of blankets with fresh colours and new designs was born.

My selection of Burels include colourful variations of old patterns called vintage 1956 or vintage 1968 alongside those in plain subtle colours.

But if it’s still too warm to consider a woollen blanket, my summer version is a lightweight cotton which comes in two patterns, two sizes and about twenty different colours. The choice is yours.

HOMES: Rua das Lojas, Rua 5 de Outubro nº 68 .

FASHION AND ACCESSORIES: Rua José Fernandes Guerreiro, nº39

OPEN: Monday - Friday 10.00-13.00; 15.00-18.00; Saturday: 10.00-14.00

T: +351 964 222 612 INSTA: martina.loule / martina-loule.com

Cork

Taken: March 2023, São Brás

Camera: Sony A7RIII

“So many items are made from cork that is harvested right here in the Algarve. I enjoyed learning about how cork oak is grown, gathered and even safeguarded during our tour at the Eco Cork Factory Tour in São Brás. Cork plays a vital part in the region’s economy and is also important to the cultural heritage of the area.”

Keyword: Economy

APG member Lori Roach moved to Tavira in September 2022 from Oregon. She and her husband Rick share their travels with online followers of Rick and Lori’s Grand Adventure. Lori started Studio

6 Designworks in 2015 and her journals and notebooks, available worldwide on Amazon, will soon be in Portugal giftshops, too.