Knot gardens in tudor times were common features of garden design,a continuous band of interlacing low growing plants formed the out line of the pattern, which some times featured heraldic beasts shaped in sand but was more often a gemetric design whit in a square area. Basedon embroidery over and under work plants of distinctive colour and texture were used to fill the outter frame.The earliest representation of a knot garden is in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili published in 1499, where the interlaced outline is filled with flowers and herbs. .
Thyme and Hyssop were first used for low hedges,in 1600s box had become popular for its greater clarity of form, inside this edging were native and exotice flowers ,daffodils, fitillaries,hyacinths,tulips and anemones. .
Knot garden may consist of outlines of box, santolinas,rosemary,rueor germander and contain inner planting of flowers leaves or a particular colour. Small tapiary specimans of spiralling box or holly give hight and enphasis to the corners of a flat design.
The french Parterre is an elaberation of a geometric knot garden.Parterre was invented by Claude Mollet in the 16th century, for the Queen of Frence,Catherin de Medici, who missed the patterned layout of the italian gardens. Early designs were laid out o flat areas below the house. .
In England and Holland , parterres were invariably box edged patterns cut in turf and filled with coloured sand or gravel.They then became unfasionable in the 18th century but was revived in W.A.Nesfields 19 century designs for large scale italianate gardens featuring box-edging beds filled withcoloured gravels.An example of his work remains in good order at Broughton Hall in Yorkshire.Even to day box-edged beds or box parterre, topiary features are agin in demand, both for resterations of period gardens or new gardens making topiary add extra dimensions and depth giving a perfict foil to free plant forms and leaf shapes on to a level lawn just the same way as in victorian times.