It is hard to believe that all the sculpted bushes in the Topiary Gardens are made of real greenery. The sculptures are so amazing and authentic that you can’t help wonder if it is made of plastic. The gardeners on site pruning and weeding the gardens assure you that the sculptures are very real.

Green Animals Topiary Garden is a self-sufficient estate featuring formal topiaries, vegetable and herb gardens, orchards and a Victorian house overlooking Narragansett Bay. While it is also part of the Newport Preservation Society, the focus here is not on the house, but on the extraordinary garden which feature 80 pieces of topiary, sculpted into the forms of animals, birds, geometric figures and ornamental designs. The sculptures are made of California privet, yew, and English boxwood.

Green Animals is the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the United States. Alice Brayton made the estate her permanent residence in 1939. When she died in 1972, it was left to the Preservation Society of Newport County.

Please note:  Green Animals is open seasonally and is not in the same neighborhood as the Mansions.

Hours and Prices Updated: September 16, 2026

Posted: August 11, 2017