"The Lateral Parterre runs parallel to the Sweetgum Alley - one of the main arteries of the property - and constitutes the visual prolongation of one of the Villa’s most important social areas. The Lateral Parterre is configured as an open-air room, probably intended for more intimate enjoyment, and forms a background setting for the Villa’s lounge area. Surrounded by the large trees of the Woodland and the Alley, the parterre is spatially defined by the hedge of yew trees that rigorously demarcates its borders, and the lawns or tapis verts that originally housed plantations of trees and shrubs of relative complexity and highly ornamental character, in accordance with the taste of the epoch, interspersed by cypress trees. The apparent immutability of the yew trees and lawns contrasts with the intense variability of leaves and blossom that characterise the tree-tops and shrubs which cast their shadows on this area throughout the year." (http://www.serralves.pt/en/pathways/lateral-parterre/)