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Knot Gardens Know-How

The knot garden has its origins in sixteenth century England, when patterned knot gardens became a common feature of formal style English gardens.

As the name suggests, knot gardens drew their inspiration from groups of knots and the designs used for making rugs and tapestries.

In Elizabethan knot gardens, an outline shape was formed using hedging in straight lines and geometric patterns or curves inside the square border to create an elaborate knot effect.

Early knot gardens (sometimes called 'physic gardens') were formal in design, enclosed within one or more square 'frames' or hedges made of boxwood and planted with herbs for medicinal and culinary purposes. Colored gravel paths were used to separate the individual herbs such as chamomile, hyssop, lemon balm, marjoram, rosemary and thyme.

Herbs and aromatic plants were chosen not only for their practicality, but also for their visual impact, with colors, shapes, textures and scents juxtaposed in intricate knot patterns.

Make Your Own Herb Knot Garden

Herb knot gardens are surprisingly easy to set up, but be warned, they're fairly labor-intensive to maintain! Still keen? Here's how you go about it:

Dip into one of the many gardening books on knot gardens and study the designs for inspiration
Choose a basic knot garden design to match your available space and, of course, your horticultural skills
Aim to make your knot garden at least six feet square in order to achieve the full effect of your chosen knot pattern
Plot your design on grid or graph paper
Arrange pebbles in the pattern of your choice as an outline for your knot garden, or use an existing gravel path for one or more borders, then add the remaining 'sides' in the same media and scaled to size
Use a garden mold, such as a sundial or compass, or even an old cartwheel as a ready-made structure: the spokes of the cartwheel can act as dividers for the individual compartments.
In large knot gardens, a small shrub or herb bush, such as lilac, lavender, sage, santolina, sassafras or witch hazel, in a contrasting color, would look great as a focal point, at the center of the knot garden
Create an intersecting path through the center of the knot garden that complements the outline pattern.
Plant the individual compartments with your favorite aromatic plants and herbs, in contrasting colors and shapes: fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, purple basil, thyme—the choice is yours.

Small-Scale Knot Gardens

Try planting a miniature herb knot garden in a small corner of your yard or possibly in a large container, by the kitchen door. Choose aromatic plants and herbs that release their aroma, especially when the sun goes down, as you brush past your mini knot garden. Chamomile (the non-flowering variety) and thyme are ideal candidates, as are larger herbs such as lavender and sage.

Knot Garden Accessories

Depending on the available space, one or two carefully-chosen garden accessories such as a small sculpture or sundial could add an extra dimension as a centerpiece to your knot garden.

Ideas For Contemporary Design Knot Gardens

Cultivate a mini knot garden by removing an existing garden paver and introducing slow-growing plants in its place. This simple idea is a very effective way of softening large, boring areas of concrete slabs.

Or build a knot garden using colorful bricks in the shape of a square, rectangle, diamond or circle. Add a smaller, similar shape inside, or add contrast with a diamond within a square. Use your mathematical skills to produce symmetrically pleasing designs. Plant individual 'compartments' with contrasting color foliage; you could also experiment with interesting companion plants.

Did you know that . . .
. . . the word parterre (from the French 'on the ground') is a form of gardening or 'floor planting' that evolved from knot gardens? Parterre is on a much grander scale and often incorporates topiary, large lawns and formalized planting.

Knot Gardens: Care and Upkeep

Before you get carried away by the beauty of knot garden designs, do bear in mind that this type of garden, even in miniature form, is high-maintenance.

Knot gardens require an endless cycle of pruning, trimming, weeding and watering. Even during their 'quiet' phases, knot gardens demand an exceptional amount of judicious weeding and pruning to remain looking their best!

Pruning is the major maintenance bugbear for knot gardeners. Reduce the amount of pruning involved by planting your knot garden mainly to evergreens such as boxwood and holly that require only light pruning. Or opt for annuals that can be replaced at the end of their cycle.

Top Tip for Knot Gardens
Boxwood is not too partial to cold conditions. If you have problems growing box for your knot garden borders, try planting hyssop or germander instead.

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