Hedge tours: Follow Edward Scissorhands through Spain

ART DOESN'T just belong in galleries, and sculptures don't have to be made out of rock-hard material and created with a hammer and chisel, or even a potter's wheel. Anyone who's fond of gardening is probably creating a work of art without realising it, and anyone who's hopeless at it probably loves admiring the end result of someone else's slog anyway. 

Neat little box-hedges are, no doubt, something you associate with a colder, northern-European climate rather than in a land with sub-tropical weather where fan palms and cacti grow wild, so it stands to reason that you wouldn't be expecting leafy green statues on display much in Spain, either.

But if you've opened this article, you'll already realise that's not the case: Spain is home to plenty of topiary displays, labyrinths and deciduous garden shrubs that would not look out of place in, say, the grounds of Versailles Palace.

And some of them are so intricate and accurately-shaped that the legendary film hermit Edward Scissorhands might have been given a job there.

It didn't all start with Johnny Depp's sharp-fingered, leather-clad recluse, of course. Topiary, or hedge-sculpting, is believed to have been around since the Roman times; and given the location of the seat of the Roman Empire, it's actually far more Mediterranean than it is northern. Which, naturally, makes Spain, a short trip across the water from Rome, an ideal candidate to spot it.

Once you start hunting for them, no doubt you'll find plenty we haven't described here, but if you've no idea where to start, we've unearthed a handful to whet your appetite for a detailed national search – or even inspire you for your own garden decorations if you're creative enough, or know someone else who is.

Vigo

Up in Spain's far north-west, this small city in the province of Pontevedra (Galicia) is famed for its Jules Verne sculpture, its Samil Beach, its historic quarters, its spectacular Christmas lights, and the dry-stone fishermen's district where the locally-caught oysters are acclaimed worldwide. But one of its cutest attractions is less-known: Dinoseto, its unoriginally-named five-year-old 'mascot'.

A combination of Dinosaurio ('Dinosaur') and seto ('hedge'), Dinoseto's popularity was not instant: He was set up in 2015 on the roundabout on the main Rosalía de Castro street, and nearby residents complained he was a monstrosity. 

Given that the elections were coming up, the mayor did not want to lose votes over a giant prehistoric hedge, so moved him out into the suburbs.

The rest of the city's population, though, fell in love with him instantly, and photos of him went viral on social media, leading to his being moved again (after the elections) to the central hub of the metropolitan area.

Even Spain's president – in opposition at the time of Dinoseto's 'birth' – tweeted a picture of him with the caption, “an absolute icon of this most beautiful city.”

Presidential endorsement helped Dinoseto's reputation, as did his decision to start a family: A year later, Dinosetiño was 'born', a miniature version of the original planted beside him.

Although, sadly, the 'Dinohedge family' has fallen victim to vandals a few times, box is a pretty robust type of plant and their injuries have always 'grown back' very quickly.

Here he is alongside Vigo's spectacular festive lights – so spectacular they've left him wide-eyed and open-mouthed – in picture two, taken by M. Madriñán for Escapada Rural magazine.

Losar de la Vera (Cáceres province)

Still on the western side of the mainland, this small town in Extremadura began its shrub-sculpting 45 years ago - long before Avon lady's daughter Winona Ryder fell in love with Tim Burton's Gothic-looking creation – as a marketing stunt.

The Nuboga garden centre had rented several plots across Losar de la Vera to set up branches (sorry...) and advertising; although not via the usual billboard method.

Its owners twigged (sorry again...) that the best way to 'sell' its ornamental plants was to trim them into animal and people shapes.

Scenes of local residents doing what local residents do (fetching water from a well, out on a bike ride, playing basketball), everyday objects (a teapot, a flower), and other sentient life-forms (a duck, a baby elephant) are just a handful of the hedge-statues that began life in the mid-1970s and are still there today (we told you box was a tough-wearing plant), although rather than being grouped in a large park or garden, or even on the lawn of a local café (like the 'alpaca and child' in picture three, by Félix Herencias for Escapada Rural magazine), Losar's topiary pieces are scattered all over the village.

In fact, even the name, in giant letters at the entrance, is cut out of a huge hedge – possibly one of Spain's most creative town signs since Cullera (Valencia province), a seaside holiday hotspot impossible to miss thanks to its massive, Tinseltown-style white letters on the side of a mountain.

Many of these creative delights sprung up long after Nuboga garden centre shut down and its owners decided to leave (really, really sorry...) Losar, since they've now become almost synonymous with the town, and its main tourism selling point.

San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid)

You may have noticed how Spanish cities, even huge ones, just seem to 'stop'. Barely five minutes outside of them by car, and you're in open countryside. Even Madrid – approaching the capital, home to nearly 3.3 million (or 6.6 million taking into account the wider metropolitan area, making it the second-largest in the European Union), along the A-3 motorway from the east, you'll be in the middle of a wheat field with no signs of civilisation within easy sight, and then pass a sign that reads, 'Madrid – 10 kilometres'. For this reason, although the Greater Madrid region is fairly small, it's also very rural: Deep-in-the-country guest houses and even ski resorts are just a few minutes by car from the heart of the capital, a phenomenon unthinkable in, say, Greater London or even the Île de France ('Greater Paris' region).

Within these rural depths is the town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias; or village, practically, as it only has just under 8,300 residents; and this is where you'll find probably the most verdant open-air art gallery in Europe.

Enid Blyton doesn't have the monopoly on Enchanted Woods. San Martín de Valdeiglesias' Bosque Encantado, which translates to exactly the same name as that of the delightful fairytale forest of the children's book series, can easily take you up to two or three hours to explore in full, and is every bit as magical.

Around 350 sculptures, all hewn out of hedges, are clustered together in this idyllic botanical garden in different 'themed' areas: Figures from Alice in Wonderland (complete with the mushrooms that made Alice grow tall and then shrink), from Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are a fabulous attraction for kids and adults alike.

Dinosaurs, ballet-dancers, a winged dragon about to take off, a man driving a cart towed by four horses, various species of animals, and even a rock band – complete with guitar, lead singer, saxophone and drum-kit - will keep you wowing and photographing for at least half a day.

See picture one for the rockers and picture four for the cart and horses, from Escapada Rural magazine.

One of the favourite characters in the Bosque Encantado is the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie to her friends), and aside from the inventive topiary, the park's best bits include a natural waterfall, a labyrinth and a display of over 100 different types of cactus.

Barcelona 

Another huge city (Spain's second-largest) with a massive expanse of green to lose yourself in – literally.

Among the fountains, ornamental ponds and canals and a handful of hedge sculptures, the park designed by architect Domenico Bagutti and built between the 1790s and 1808 has since been expanded and upgraded, firstly by its private owners, the wealthy Desvalls family, then from 1971 by Barcelona city council, which bought it.

French landscape gardener Delvalet is largely the brains behind what you see today – an elegant blend of the Romantic and Neo-Classical, a haven of calm and clean air in the centre of the urban sprawl.

At least, 'calm' until you try to find your way out of the hedge-maze.

The La Horta Labyrinth is not huge, fits on one photograph (like picture five, by @stbaus7 for Escapada Rural magazine), but is said to be notoriously difficult to get out of once you're in it. 

Still, it's worth a try, and nobody is known to have become lost without trace inside its leafy walls (yet). 

And as long as you take your phone with you, you can always call up this article and use the picture as a guide to where you are and its relation to where you want to be – or drop a GPS-locator pin so you can be found if you're not back in time for dinner.