Knot Gardens Give You Leave to Play
Walls that surrounded medieval monastic gardens imposed their geometry upon the planted beds within. The beds usually were rectangular, and they were divided into more rectangles or other geometric shapes. Soon, people began to notice that all these lines and curves within the beds were quite ornamental, and thus originated the “knot garden.”
A knot garden has neat, compact plants that draw lines on the ground. Areas defined by these lines are filled with plants with casual growth habits, or with materials such as sand, gravel or wood chips.
Though knot gardens are rarely seen today except in historic sites, why not use one to decorate a part of a vegetable garden or a brick patio, or form a bed in a lawn with a sundial or a birdbath? Knot gardens are good homes for herbs and well-suited to small areas.
If you want to try your hand at a knot garden, first draw your design on paper. Make the design symmetric and the pattern of either interwoven or separate shapes. Begin with rough sketches, then plot the garden to scale, allowing for a foot or so of plant width for the lines.
The next step is to indicate the colors, shades and textures of plants and inert materials you want for each part of the garden. Finally, on the basis of your notes, decide what plants are suitable.
Compact evergreen plants, at least for the lines, carry the design through the year. Some possibilities include boxwood, germander, sage, lavender and heather. The scope of plants is widened if you don’t mind watching deciduous plants lose their leaves in the winter. Then you can use chives, basil, even parsley or lettuce. (Use leaf lettuce so you can harvest just the outer leaves, leaving plants--and the design--intact.)
Spaces enclosed by the lines could be filled with annual bedding plants such as petunias or marigolds. For a more subdued effect, one created by shades of green and occasional, quiet flowers, plant pachysandra, vinca, thyme, or viola. Liven the scene in spring by planting within this greenery a few small, early season bulbs such as snowdrop or crocus.
A knot garden is not a low-maintenance garden. Then again, a knot garden need not be large. Maintain the beauty of a knot garden by religiously keeping out weeds and shearing plants, as needed, to maintain crisp lines.
