KNOTTY PROBLEM
The other day I was looking at a print that resembled a Delft tile. The focal point was a quatrefoil enclosing a vase of stylized flowers. The symmetry, flowers and unbroken outline reminded me of a knot garden, a form of planting I have admired for years. Now that the gardening season has ended, I can amuse myself trying to figure out how I could create a knot garden–or at least a modified knot garden–on my own property.
The Oxford Companion to Gardens describes a knot garden as “…a garden planted in the form of a knot, a figure of continuous interlacing bands, expressive of an unchanging or endless situation”¦” If you can imagine the two intersecting circles on an old-fashioned double wedding ring quilt; or the symbol for infinity, which is shaped like a figure eight lying on its side, you can imagine shapes that might be used in a knot garden. The “continuous interlacing bands” are usually composed of low-growing woody plants like boxwood or santolina. Complicated knot garden designs sometimes incorporate two evergreen shrub varieties with contrasting leaf colors planted in such a way that a band of one color seems to cross over or under a band of another color. The sinuous lines of shrubs that form the “knot” are planted in such a way that the design appears continuous, with no breaks in the bands. The spaces in between the bands can be filled with plants–either larger shrubs clipped into stylized shapes, or flowers. In traditional knot gardens, sometimes flowers were rejected in favor of colored gravel.
Knot gardens bear a superficial resemblance to mazes, but mazes usually have taller shrubs and breaks in the bands to allow entrances, exits and passages. Mazes are interactive, whereas knot gardens are meant to be viewed and appreciated for their decorative or symbolic value.
Knot gardens became popular in England during the sixteenth century, before and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The designs reflect many influences. Some knots would be familiar to anyone who has seen traditional Celtic jewelry or decorative art. Others owe their origins to decorative motifs used in the ancient Romans and Islamic cultures.
The use of these extremely stylized plantings declined in the seventeenth century, but the art of making patterned gardens has been revived regularly ever since. The late Rosemary Verey, English gardening grande dame, created intricate knot gardens composed only of clipped shrubs and neutral-colored gravel at her garden at Barnsley House in Gloucestershire. A complex knot garden at London’s Museum of Garden History features a circle inside a square. Shrubbery “bands” in the shape of a four-petaled flower radiate from the evergreen topiary at the center of the plot out to the corners of the square, intersecting the circle at eight points. Flowers fill the spaces between the bands.
Suppose you want to make a knot garden in front of your particular palace. What do you need? Knot gardens require a combination of space, time, patience and money. The space has to be level and sunny for most of the day. The time and patience are needed for laying out the pattern with sticks and string, planting the many little shrubs and waiting for them to grow together into bands. Your garden will not look impressive until at least the second–and more likely the third–season. Money will be an issue, because even if you do all the work yourself, you are going to have to buy a number of young plants to form the knot. Traditional garden rules apply–the smaller the plants, the lower the initial cost, but the longer it will take for the garden to mature. You will also need mulching material, even if you fill the spaces between the bands with flowering specimens. If you are going to use colored gravel, it is wise to think about laying down landscape fabric first to discourage weeds. Invest in a sharp pair of clippers as well, because all that shrubbery requires exacting maintenance to keep the outlines crisp. Knot gardens are not for those who dislike clipping shrubbery or can’t afford a surrogate to do the chore.
Many knot gardens feature miniature boxwood, but other miniature evergreens would also work. I like the traditional idea of a lavender knot, but that requires excellent drainage. Santolina or lavender cotton, which is somewhat less fussy than lavender, is another herb often used to form the bands.
The flip side of all that effort is that knot gardens, when well maintained, are beautiful and add a spiritual as well as a decorative dimension to the landscape. Like Italian-style parterres, they look especially beautiful when viewed from above. They are ideal for the base of a slope or a spot where they can be seen from a porch, balcony or other elevated part of the house.
If you want to try a knot garden, pick up a copy of Knot Gardens and Parterres by Robin Whalley and Anne Jennings (Barn Elms Publishing, 2006). The authors provide a history of the form as well as many excellent ideas on how to incorporate characteristic knot garden features into a modern home landscape.