Knot gardens demonstrate the formal art of pruning and shaping plants in a defined garden space. They first appeared in English, French and Italian gardens in the sixteenth century. This unique knot garden offers an abstract contemporary twist to the structured and geometric traditional knot garden design. Deciduous, broadleaf and evergreen hedges have been combined in a variety of heights and shapes, punctuated by pyramidal and fastigiated (clusters of parallel and erect branches) forms. Planted within the hedging are plants that are white-flowering or silver-foliaged. There are also selections of white-variegated leaved plants.
The plants selected can withstand rigorous and regular pruning and shaping. The form, colour and texture of the hedges define the structure of the garden and provide year round interest long after the perennials have finished blooming.
The Knot Garden can be viewed from the top of the Spiral Mound.