Knot garden

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

A knot garden is a very formal design of garden in a square frame and grown with a variety or aromatic plants and culinary herbs including Germander , marjoram, thyme, southernwood , lemonbalm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendulas, Violas and Santolina . Most knot gardens had edges made from Box (Buxus sempervirens) whose foliage has a sweet smell when bruised. The paths between were usually laid with fine gravel

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 of Knot Gardens

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

• St Fagans, south Wales
• Alexandra Hicks Herb Knot Garden , University of Michigan, USA
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden, USA