Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII's Entrance
Hampton Court Palace, The Garden Side Executed in the Late Seventeenth Century by Sir Christopher Wren on the Orders of King William III
In recent years, the original late seventeenth-century garden designs of Henrey Wise and others have been restored in areas of the grounds of Hampton Court, but with one significant difference. While the modern restored gardens re-establish rigidly symmetrical parterre designs, the plantings contain a great deal more color than the original gardens would have possessed. It was not until very late in the history of garden design that flowers were used to create great splashes of color--in fact, not until the nineteenth century, after the invention of large "hot houses." Before then, color contrast between plantings of low box hedges would have been achieved with colored sand and gravel. Le Notre and his followers actually disiked the use of much color in parterre designs, but modern tastes demand color, and color indeed abundantly dominates the box parterres of Hampton Court. Note also the topiaries, box shrubs or vines trained or trimmed into geometrical shapes of the shapes of animals such as birds.
Hampton Court Garden Views:
Tijou Wrought Iron Gates:
Sir Christopher Wren's Garden Facade:
Henry VIII's Tudor Wing Meets Wren's Palladianism:
Garden Statues:
Box and Flower Parterres:
