How to Design a Knot Garden: Plants, Patterns & Steps

A knot garden is a formal planting in which low, clipped hedges are arranged in an interwoven geometric pattern—so the lines appear to cross over and under one another like a knot—usually viewed from above and best appreciated from a window, terrace, or raised path. Rooted in Tudor and Elizabethan England, the style looks intricate but is built from a few simple ingredients: a symmetrical pattern, a tight low hedging plant such as boxwood or germander to draw the lines, and contrasting infill (gravel, herbs, or flowers) to fill the spaces between. This guide gives you everything you need to design one—how to choose a pattern that suits your space, the best plants for the hedge lines and the infill, exact spacing and layout steps, and the seasonal clipping that keeps it crisp—whether you want a tiny 6-foot square or a grand parterre-scale centerpiece.

What Is a Knot Garden?

A knot garden is a type of formal garden where clipped, low-growing hedges are laid out in a tight, symmetrical geometric design. In the classic “closed” knot, the hedge lines weave over and under each other—achieved by clipping one line slightly lower where it “passes beneath” another—creating the illusion of an interlaced rope or Celtic knot. In an “open” knot, the pattern divides the bed into distinct compartments that are filled with contrasting materials. Either way, the defining qualities are symmetry, low height, and a pattern read from above. Knot gardens are close cousins of the French parterre, which uses the same idea on a grander scale; a small knot garden is essentially a parterre you can fit beside a patio.

Step 1: Choose the Site

Because the whole point is the pattern, place your knot garden where the design is visible from above or head-on—below an upstairs window, beside a raised terrace, at the center of a courtyard, or framed by a path you walk around. It needs full sun (at least six hours) for the hedging and herbs to grow dense, and well-drained soil, since the classic Mediterranean hedging plants like santolina and lavender hate wet feet. A flat, level area is far easier to lay out accurately than a slope. Measure the space and decide on a scale you can realistically maintain: a 6-by-6-foot square is plenty for a first knot garden, while a formal centerpiece might be 15 to 20 feet across.

Step 2: Pick a Pattern

Knot patterns range from beginner-simple to dizzyingly complex. Start with a design you can actually lay out and clip. Good options, easiest first:

• Quartered square: A square divided into four equal beds by a cross, often with a circle or diamond overlaid in the center. The simplest and most forgiving layout.
• Interlaced diamond: A square containing a diamond (a square turned 45 degrees), so the two outlines cross at four points—the classic introduction to the “over and under” knot effect.
• Circle-in-square: A circle inscribed in a square, with the corners forming triangular compartments—elegant and not too hard to set out with a string compass.
• Loops and true knots: Overlapping circles or a continuous looping ribbon that genuinely weaves over and under. Beautiful but demanding to lay out and clip.

Sketch your chosen pattern on graph paper to scale before you touch the soil. Keep the design symmetrical, and remember that every line you draw is a hedge you will have to plant and clip for years—simpler patterns age more gracefully because they are easier to keep crisp. Many gardeners add a focal point at the center: a clipped boxwood ball, a topiary cone, a birdbath, an urn, or a standard rose.

Step 3: Choose Your Hedging Plants

The hedge plants draw the lines of the knot, so they must be small-leaved, dense, slow-growing, and tolerant of frequent clipping. The traditional and most popular choices:

• Dwarf boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’ or compact cultivars): the classic—evergreen, fine-textured, takes shearing beautifully. Note that boxwood blight and box tree moth are concerns in some regions; consider blight-resistant types or alternatives.
• Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys): a tough, glossy-leaved evergreen sub-shrub used for centuries in knot gardens, with pink summer flowers and excellent drought tolerance.
• Dwarf lavender (e.g. Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’ or ‘Hidcote’): silvery and fragrant, though it needs sharp drainage and gives softer lines than boxwood.
• Santolina (cotton lavender): silver or green, aromatic, drought-proof, and clips into a neat line—great for color contrast against green boxwood.
• Dwarf hyssop, wall germander, dwarf rosemary, and compact barberry are other period-appropriate or modern choices.

Using two contrasting hedge colors—say green boxwood for one set of lines and silver santolina for the crossing lines—greatly enhances the woven, over-and-under illusion. Pick evergreen or semi-evergreen plants if you want the pattern to read all winter.

Step 4: Plan the Infill

The spaces enclosed by the hedge lines are the other half of the design. Traditional and effective infill options include:

• Colored gravel or crushed stone—the historically authentic choice. Different colored gravels (buff, slate, white, brick-red) in different compartments make the pattern pop and need almost no maintenance.
• Low herbs—thyme, chives, marjoram, dwarf basil, or parsley, keeping a knot garden both ornamental and useful, as the Tudors did.
• Single-color bedding—a block of one annual or perennial per compartment (for example, deep blue lobelia, white alyssum, or a single bedding color) for bold, simple contrast.
• Clipped infill—dwarf plants kept very low, or simply bare soil dressed with mulch in the most minimalist designs.

Keep the infill lower than the hedges so the pattern lines stay dominant, and keep each compartment simple—one material or one plant per space reads far better than a busy mix.

Step 5: Lay Out and Plant

Accurate marking is what separates a sharp knot garden from a wobbly one. Prepare the bed first: clear weeds, dig in plenty of organic matter, and improve drainage with grit if your soil is heavy—the hedging plants will be in place for years. Then transfer your graph-paper design to the ground:

• Establish a baseline and center. Use stakes and string to mark the outer square or to find the center point for circles. A loop of string tied to a central stake works as a giant compass for arcs.
• Mark the lines. Lay out the full pattern with string, sand, or spray-marking paint, checking measurements and symmetry from several angles before planting.
• Plant the hedges. Set small hedging plants in a single row along each line, spaced 6 to 9 inches apart (closer for the tiniest plants) so they will knit into a continuous solid line within a season or two. Plant the crossing lines as continuous runs; you will create the over-and-under effect later by clipping.
• Add the infill. Once the hedge lines are in, install edging if using gravel, then fill the compartments with your chosen gravel, herbs, or flowers.
• Water in well and mulch the hedge plants to establish them.

Step 6: Clip and Maintain

A knot garden lives or dies by its crisp lines, so regular clipping is essential. Once the hedges have grown together, trim them two to three times during the growing season (typically late spring, midsummer, and early fall) to keep the lines tight, narrow, and usually under about 12 inches tall. Use sharp hand shears for accuracy on small designs, or a hedge trimmer on larger ones, and run a string line as a guide to keep the tops level. To create the woven illusion in a true knot, clip the line that should appear to pass underneath slightly lower where the two cross, so the “over” line visually dominates.

Keep the infill weeded and refreshed, top up gravel as needed, and replace any hedge plants that die so the lines never break. Feed the hedges lightly in spring and water during droughts, especially while young. With a simple pattern and tough plants, a knot garden is surprisingly low-effort to keep beautiful once established. If you are planning the surrounding landscape too, our outdoor living and landscaping guides cover paths, patios, and bed edging that frame a formal garden, and the plants and flowers section has more on herbs and perennials for the infill.

Knot Garden Ideas for Small Spaces

You do not need a stately home to enjoy this style. A single quartered square as small as 4 to 6 feet, edged in dwarf boxwood with four herb-filled compartments and a clipped ball at the center, makes a charming focal point for a courtyard or front garden. For balconies or paved areas, build a knot pattern in a large raised planter or a series of square containers using compact germander or dwarf box. Even a simple circle-in-square in gravel and silver santolina, set against dark mulch, delivers the formal, geometric drama of a knot garden in a footprint that fits a city plot.