Knot gardens...

Knot gardens were popularised in English gardens in the mid-15th century, when the stability of the nation was reflected in the increasing confidence of domestic architecture. People had the time, money and security to make their gardens a haven for relaxation. Knot gardens, mazes and labyrinths were all common, and provided intellectual puzzles to amuse the viewer.

The hedges themselves were made up of a variety of plants, usually two or more, and originally were planted with woody herbs. In the 17th century the versatile box hedge became the most common border plant. Some knot gardens had the spaces between the hedges filled with colourful and fragrant plants, others with coloured gravel or stones.

Knots had both a practical and symbolic purpose in Tudor England - they were used for everything from fashion to farming. Decorative designs incorporating knot patterns could be found on textiles, woodwork and in the garden. Knots represented the tying together of disparate elements, unity and strength. Many of the designs for knot gardens have this symbolic element.

As the fashion for formal gardens faded with the Landscape movement of the 18th century, knot gardens also fell out of favour. It was up to the Victorians to revive them, and they loved to fill the compartments with banks of colourful bedding plants.

In our potager we are creating 2 knot gardens. Both are 5m x5m squares, with a centre circle surrounded by four quadrants as below. In the centre of one, the culinary knot garden, is a large weeping rose (below) which we have transplanted from our current address; in the centre of the other, the medicinal knot garden, is the dovecot (minus the doves).

Although not as complex as the examples above, I think that the design for our knot garden is right for our purposes (it needs to have enough room to plant herbs between the borders) ...

After colouring and photoshopping...

Most people are familiar with Buxus Sempervirens, a very popular and versatile plant for small hedges...

But less common is the lovely silver hedging plant, Teucrium fruiticans...

Teucrium fruticans aka silver germander is a great hedging plant. It is prolifically growing, likes to be severely trimmed regularly, forms good dense hedging and provides a great silver alternative to buxus hedging. Thus, a perfect plant to use for a two-tone knot design, and also a great hedge for us to further define the borders of the Bluebell walk, especially given it also has delicate purple flowers.

We shall have both Buxus and Teucrium interwoven...

The Dovecote...

A dovecot(e) is a building intended to house doves or pigeons. They have been made in a variety of shapes and styles over the centuries, but generally contain multiple pigeon holes for doves to nest in.

Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in Europe and were kept for their eggs, flesh, and guano. In the Middle Ages, the possession of a dovecote was a symbol of status and power and was consequently regulated by law. Only nobles had this special privilege known as droit de colombier.

Above: A medieval example of dovecots, from an illuminated manuscript.

The oldest dovecotes are thought to have been the fortified dovecotes of Upper Egypt, and the domed dovecotes of Iran. The presence of dovecotes is not noted in France before the Roman invasion of Gaul by Caesar. Dovecotes were a passion in Rome:. They were known as columbaria (from the Latin for pigeon / dove). They were round, and their interiors were covered with a white coating of marble powder. Varro and Pliny the Elder wrote works on pigeon farms and dovecote construction.

At the time of the Roman Republic the internal design of the banks of pigeonholes was adapted for the purpose of disposing of cremated ashes after death.

Above: The interior of a medieval dovecote
Below: 2 Examples of early dovecotes

Above and below: The dovecote at Nymans Gardens, West Sussex, England.

Today most Dovecots are made to stand on poles, many being purely ornamental...

When people think of doves, they usually imagine the small white dives that are released at weddings, or associated with peace. Doves and pigeons (both members of the columbidae family, the only difference being size and colouring) are a genus of bird with very many species and varieties.

Above: A White Dove
Below: A Laughing Dove

We have a White wooden dovecote on our current property, which I am going to restore and repaint (with a pale grey/blue roof to match the obelisks in the potager beds) and install in the potager garden.