The garden came to be seen as a sort of paradise in wh ich to recline with an instrument or woo a lady
jousting and butts for archery, all surrounded by raised viewing galleries for his adoring subjects. Under Elizabeth I gardening became even more
excessive, as courtiers competed for her affections. Gardens in this period were characterised by low-level mazes, and complex knot patterns filled with flowers, topiary, terraces, alleys and Italianate obelisks. While no Tudor gardens remain intact, a faithful
reconstruction has taken place at Kenilworth in Warwickshire. Originally created in 1575 by Robert Dudley to impress his Queen, the castle became a ruin, and the garden was lost to the world for 400 years. Using historical records and state-of-the-art archaeology, the garden has now been restored to its former glory, with carved arbours, colourful planting, a bejewelled aviary and an 18-foot-high marble fountain. Gardens became increasingly formal through the
following two centuries. They took their lead from French gardens, in particular the Sun King’s garden at the Palace of Versailles. James I employed Salomon de Caux to work on a number of royal gardens, and later Charles I employed Salomon’s younger brother, Isaac, to add further continental touches to the Jacobean gardens he
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had inherited. The parterres at Rousham in Oxfordshire are a good example from this period, having evolved from Tudor knot gardens. Garden trends have usually been led by the monarch
of the time. Once the Dutch rulers William and Mary took the throne the French influence diminished. Dutch baroque style had plenty of water features, all very symmetrical with stately walks, statues and geometrically elaborate parterres. The Dutch also introduced plate bande, where plants are thinly distributed with bare soil in between, the idea being to show off the rarity and quality of individual specimens. Westbury Court is a very Dutch-style garden, complete
with canals, elaborate fountains, formal walks and beautiful vistas, and the borders laid out authentically plate bande. It is the only restored Dutch water garden in the country. Visitors flock to see the giant tulip tree that flowers at the end of June, and special evening tours of the garden, Easter egg trails and Apple Day. When most people think of the next major age in
British history, the Georgian period, their minds leap to classical-style architecture and genteel landscapes. Of course, though, there was a time of transition. Great
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