Knot garden

A knot garden is a garden of very formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendula, Viola and Santolina. Most knot gardens now have edges made from box (Buxus sempervirens), whose leaves have a sweet smell when bruised. The paths in between are usually laid with fine gravel. However, the original designs of knot gardens did not have the low box hedges, and knot gardens with such hedges might more accurately be called parterres.

For the opera by Michael Tippett, see The Knot Garden.
Knot Garden at St Fagans museum of country life, south Wales

Most Renaissance knot gardens were composed of square compartments. A small garden might consist of one compartment, while large gardens might contain six or eight compartments.

Examples
The Knot Garden at the Red Lodge Museum, Bristol.

Knot gardens were first established in England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Some early knot gardens have been covered over by lawn or other landscaping, but the original traces are still visible as undulations in the present day landscape. An example of this phenomenon is the early 17th-century garden of Muchalls Castle in Scotland.

Knot gardens have become established in many temperate formal gardens throughout the world, including:

A knot garden is featured in Shakespeare's play Love's Labour's Lost.

See also

Media related to knot gardens at Wikimedia Commons

References
  1. "The Dunedin Railway Station". Cityofdunedin.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  2. "A Landmark for the 21st century". Astley Castle. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  3. Gloucestershire: the Cotswolds, The Buildings of England edited by Nikolaus Pevsner, 2nd ed. (1979) ISBN 0-14-071040-X, pp.96-100
  4. "The Knot Garden". Helmingham Hall. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  5. Fedden, Robin; Joekes, Rosemary (1984). The National Trust Guide. The National Trust. pp. 155, 257. ISBN 978-0-224-01946-0.
  6. "The Red Lodge Museum". Culture 24. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  7. "Visit the Castle Gardens". Sudeley Castle & Gardens. Retrieved 20 June 2020.


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