Green Animals Topiary Garden facts for kids
The Green Animals Topiary Garden is a special place in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It is the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the United States. A topiary is a plant that has been carefully shaped into an animal or other fun form. This garden is about 7 acres (2.8 hectares) big and looks out over Narragansett Bay.
You can find many amazing plant sculptures here. There are eighty shaped trees, including teddy bears, a camel, a giraffe, and an elephant. These living sculptures are made from plants like California privet, yew, and English boxwood. The garden also has over 35 flowerbeds, pretty pathways, and areas for roses, grapes, fruits, and vegetables. There's even a greenhouse that grows new plants for the estate. The old 1859 Victorian Brayton house is now a museum. It shows off old family furniture and a small collection of vintage kids' toys. The Preservation Society of Newport County now takes care of this unique garden.
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History of the Garden
In 1872, a man named Thomas E. Brayton bought this small country estate in Portsmouth. He was looking for a summer home away from his work in Fall River, Massachusetts. The property was 7 acres (2.8 hectares) and had a white summer house, farm buildings, and a vegetable garden. The main house had a lovely view of Narragansett Bay.
A gardener named Joseph Carreiro started working there in 1905. He slowly began to turn the estate into a place of "living sculptures." Mr. Carreiro was hired to create and care for both pretty and edible gardens. He planted fruit trees and flowerbeds. He also started experimenting with trimming fast-growing shrubs into unique shapes. The very first topiaries were started in the garden's greenhouse in 1912. Later, they were moved outside.
Thomas Brayton passed away in 1939. His daughter, Alice Brayton, then moved into the house permanently in 1940. Joseph Carreiro's son-in-law, George Mendonca, joined him as a gardener. Both men were very important in creating the topiaries. George Mendonca was hired after a hurricane damaged the garden in 1938. He married Joseph Carreiro's daughter, Mary. They lived on the garden grounds for many years. George and Mary Mendonca passed away just one day apart in 2011.
Miss Brayton loved their work so much that she renamed the estate "Green Animals." Each topiary was carefully hand-trimmed and trained over many years. This traditional method takes a long time. Today, some topiaries are shaped faster using metal frames. Under Miss Brayton's guidance, about 30 topiaries were created. Thanks to George Mendonca's care for five decades, the garden became a famous place for plants.
A hurricane in 1954 caused more damage. The giraffe topiary even lost its head and neck! It took five years for it to grow back, but with a shorter neck. The estate also hosted famous people over the years. Jackie Bouvier, who later married President John F. Kennedy, had a party there in 1947. Mamie Eisenhower, the wife of President Dwight Eisenhower, also visited.
When Miss Brayton passed away in 1972 at age 94, she left Green Animals to The Preservation Society of Newport County. George Mendonca continued to manage the grounds until he retired in 1985. Every year, Green Animals hosts a fun children's party. About 1,000 people come to enjoy it.
Plants Used for Topiaries
The oldest topiaries at Green Animals were started in 1912. They were shaped from boxwood and California privet plants. Boxwood is a common plant for topiaries. It is an evergreen plant with small, dark green leaves. It grows slowly and likes shade. Sometimes, cold weather can hurt its leaves in northern areas. The geometric shapes in the garden are made from boxwood.
Topiaries made in the 1940s continued to use California privet. Privet is a fast-growing shrub with dark green leaves. It was used because it grew quickly. Since the estate was a summer home, it didn't matter that privet loses its leaves in the fall. These plants need to be trimmed often, sometimes weekly. Some metal supports are hidden inside the shapes to help them stay strong in wind and snow.
Newer topiaries are made from English yew. This is a strong evergreen plant that only needs trimming once or twice a year. However, yew is very dense and can be harder to shape.
The paths and plants near the main house are more formal. But in newer parts of the estate, you can see more modern, free-form topiaries. The garden also has a small fruit orchard, a flower cutting garden, and a vegetable patch. Vegetables from the garden are given to the Rhode Island Food Bank.
The greenhouse starts flower seedlings in January and February. Vegetable seedlings are started in March. These young plants are then moved to special cold frames. Unlike most cold frames, which are made of wood, the ones at Green Animals are made of concrete. Alice Brayton designed them herself.
Gardeners Who Shaped Green Animals
- Joseph Carreiro, Superintendent of Green Animals, 1905–1945
- George Mendonça, Superintendent of Green Animals, 1950–1985
- Ernest Wasson, Grounds Manager, 1985–1990
- Crisse Genga, Grounds Manager, 1990 to 2002
- Mary Ann Von Handorf, Gardener 1988-2002, Grounds Manager, 2002–2003
- Eugene Platt, Topiarist, 2002–2020
- James Donahue, Horticulturist, 2004–2014
- Dan Christina, Chief Horticulturist and Manager, 2014-March 2023
About the Documentary
The film Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control is a documentary from 1997 by Errol Morris. Part of this movie shows George Mendonça's amazing work at Green Animals.
- Film synopsis
See also
In Spanish: Jardín de topiaria de animales verdes para niños
