Queen's Garden

The Queen's Garden is a seventeenth-century-style garden situated behind Kew Palace. At one time, the site was not cultivated because the area was regularly flooded by the River Thames. In 1959, Sir George Taylor, then the Director of the Gardens, decided to create a garden whose style matched that of the palace. Work began in 1963 and, in 1969, the Garden was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The main feature of the garden is the parterre in front of the palace. Enclosed within low hedges of box (Buxus sempervirens "Suffruticosa"), are plantings of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia "Hidcote"), sage (Salvia officinalis), Santolina chamaecyparissus, and rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis). In the centre of the parterre is a rectangular pond which houses a copy of the cast of Verrochio's Boy with Dolphin - the original is in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The parterre is surrounded on all sides by a hedge of yew (Taxus baccata).

In the top corner of the parterre is a small hill called "The Mound", on top of which is a wrought iron rotunda. Initially, mounds were used by the lord of the manor as a point from which to survey his land. The parterre is approached from the eastern side via a boscage (raised hedge) of hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). A French concept, the boscage allowed ladies to walk in the heat of the day under the cool shade of the trees.

Next to the parterre is a sunken nosegay garden. In the seventeenth century ladies and gentleman carried posies or nosegays made of fragrant-leaved plants and sweet-smelling flowers. They would press the nosegay to their noses in order to mask the smell of the streets. Plants in nosegays included sage, bergamot, and artemisia, which are all grown in the nosegay garden.

The plants in the Queen's Garden are those exclusively grown before the seventeenth century. The plants grown were considered primarily for their medicinal qualities, with their culinary and ornamental qualities as secondary and tertiary considerations. Research into the plants was mostly taken from the seventeenth century herbals, from authors such as John Gerard, John Tradescant and John Parkinson.

Other features in the nosegay garden include the wrought iron pillar, originally from Hampton Court and the seat cushioned with chamomile with a back of box. Behind the chamomile chair is the small woodland garden containing the smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) and a gazebo.

The labelling system in the Queen's Garden is different to that of the rest of the gardens. The following information is included:

• contemporary botanical name and family;
• common name in the seventeenth century;
• virtue or quotation from a herbal; and
• author's name and date of publication.

Continue the tour

Back up to: Riverside Zone

Carry on to: Bee Garden

See also

Kew's History & Heritage: Queen's Garden