the importance of structure plants in italian gardens

Italian gardens and their design is based around a strong, geometric structure, which is generally created using what we garden designers call 'structure plants'. Famous Italian gardens like Boboli, Villa Lante and many other Renaissance gardens symbolise and represent this style of Italian garden design perfectly. If one wishes to re-create this kind of geometric, Renaissance, Italian garden feel in our own gardens/ yard then we have to take the use of structure very seriously and create it with symbolic, Italian garden plants.

Many plants cann be used to symbolise the Italian feel in a recreated Italian garden space and these are generally comprised of dense, slow-growing, evergreen plants such as:

Buxus sempervirens (Box, Boxwood or 'Bosso' in Italian)

Box, or boxwood Is a fine candidate for the best structure plant for Italian gardens as its extremely dense and low growth habit allows for the creation of elegant, compact and low-growing hedges. Box can be clipped into almost any shape desired and suits the Italian garden perfectly. Since the Italian Renaissance gardens of the 14th to 16th century box hedging has been used to define and underline symmetry and geometric structure. This structure is essential when creating an authentic Italian style garden. Box is a relatively slow-growing plant with a very dense habit and, when pruned annually it will live for many years. Varieties of Buxus sempervirens such as 'Suffruticosa' can even be used to form an elegant, formal hedge of just a few inches high. Boxwood can also withstand both dense, dry shade and, when provided with adequate mulching, it can even thrive in the baking hot, Mediterranean sun when its root system has established well.

As with any garden plant, there are some negative factors regarding boxwood, the first being the fact that it emits a strong, pungent odour, especially when the plant is brushed against. The second negative point concerning this plant is that its susceptible to an incurable root disease that begins by manifesting itself with just a few brown patches amongst the foliage and then slowly takes over the whole plant (or hedge), eventually killing it. Although this fungus is relatively rare it can, nonetheless, prove to be very inconvenient and quite costly when it strikes an established hedge. Despite this Buxus sempervirens still remains one of the best all-round structure plants for the formal Italian garden.

Yew (Taxus baccata) or Tasso in Italian
Taxus baccata makes a fantastic structure plant in Northern Italian gardens, where the sun is less harsh and where annual rainfall is slightly higher than in more southern regions of Italy. It is a woodland plant that prefers a semi-shaded position and appreciates moist soils in which it can reach several metres high. However, once established and when provided with adequate mulching, it can withstand intense sun if its roots can find sufficient moisture.

The yew tree can claim to possessing the densest foliage of all of the plants used for creating structure in the Italian garden. Although, again it is an extremely slow growing plant and needs skilled annual pruning and careful maintenance. Once established in the right position and with the correct annual maintenance, the Yew tree can live for many, many years and it is not afflicted by any serious diseases. The Yew tree's small red seeds are highly poisonous though , so it is not suitable for gardens where children will be left unattended.

Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) or leccio in Italian
Italian garden designers have been using the Holm oak to create structure in their gardens for many centuries, most extensively during the Renaissance and there are many good reasons why. Il leccio is an evergreen oak tree that possesses an extremely dense growth habit with tiny dark green leaves that provide a wonderfully elegant and timeless structure plant in the Italian garden. Its ability to grow tall and wide in the sunniest or shadiest parts of the garden has established it as one of the best structure plants for the Italian garden.

Quercus ilex is especially useful for the creation of wide slabs of strong structure but, with regular pruning, it is also just as suitable for standard, medium-sized hedging.

Laurus nobilis (Bay laurel) or 'Alloro' in Italian
Bay laurel is by far one of the best hedging and structure plants for hot, Italian gardens, its ability to withstand the hot Mediterranean sun, its fast and dense growth habit and longevity have meant that it has featured in almost all of the famous Italian gardens since early times. Laurus nobilis also possesses one of the most symbolic and useful seasoning in many mediterranean dishes that has been used in Italian cooking since before Roman times.

The bay laurels fast growth rate and the fact that it should only be cut with seceteurs (clippers) and not with a hedgecutter (in order to avoid browning the leaves) means that it is not the easiest of the Italian garden plants to maintain but it is most definitely worth it! The laurel is a great contender for the best structure or hedge plant for the Italian garden.

Cupressus sempervirens (Cypress) or 'Cipresso' in Italian
The Cypress tree is older than the Italian culture itself and it has been present in Italian gardens since early Etruscan times (around 400 B.C.). When the cypress tree is left to reach its full size and shape or if it is maintained in its classic needle shape it is undisputedly one of the finest and by far the most symbolic structure providers on the Italian garden designers plant list.

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However, when the cypress tree is not regularly pruned, or when it is allowed to grow out of that needle shape, or when it is grown as a hedge, it can become rather complicated to maintain and requires regular and careful twice-yearly pruning to maintain that shape. The main failing of the cypress is that when it is allowed to grow out of its neat, hedge form (allowed to overgrow) it is very difficult and often impossible to revert it to its original shape. A slight mistake with the hedge-cutter at this point can leave brown areas that will never re-grow, such is this plants sensitivity. A classic amongst Italian structure plants but far too labour-intensive for the modern Italian garden.

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