I have never been to the botanical garden at Madiera, and know little about topiary. I was intrigued by the whimsical topiary featured in the movie Edward Scissorshands. However I have been to some other gardens in Europe, including Kew Gardens near London and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Winter Palace has an impressive iris collection, and Kew gardens has a very large variety of plants from various regions of the world. I have also seen the Medicci Gardens in Florence, and that is pretty formal.
I tend to spend more time at small botanical gardens and arboretums sponsored by towns or universities in the US. North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC USA has a sizable collection of woody shrubs and trees in their arboretum. The Greensboro, NC arboretum has a small collection of maple trees. That arboretum is interesting because it is managed by a garden club and located on a parcel of land that runs under large power lines. The botanical gardens at the University of South Florida in Tampa has a variety of subtropical plants and is self-supporting through plant sales and the use of volunteers, with very little if any funding from the University. It is interesting how different gardens are managed and how they are different in focus.
Stephanie Fischetti
Jul 30, 2008
Stephanie Fischetti
I have never been to the botanical garden at Madiera, and know little about topiary. I was intrigued by the whimsical topiary featured in the movie Edward Scissorshands. However I have been to some other gardens in Europe, including Kew Gardens near London and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Winter Palace has an impressive iris collection, and Kew gardens has a very large variety of plants from various regions of the world. I have also seen the Medicci Gardens in Florence, and that is pretty formal.
I tend to spend more time at small botanical gardens and arboretums sponsored by towns or universities in the US. North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC USA has a sizable collection of woody shrubs and trees in their arboretum. The Greensboro, NC arboretum has a small collection of maple trees. That arboretum is interesting because it is managed by a garden club and located on a parcel of land that runs under large power lines. The botanical gardens at the University of South Florida in Tampa has a variety of subtropical plants and is self-supporting through plant sales and the use of volunteers, with very little if any funding from the University. It is interesting how different gardens are managed and how they are different in focus.
Aug 2, 2008