High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Knot gardens were first established in the UK in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Knot Garden at St Fagans museum of country life, south Wales. A knot garden is a very formal design of garden in a square frame and grown with a variety or aromatic plants and culinary herbs including Germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendulas, Violas and Santolina. Most knot gardens now have edges made from Box (Buxus sempervirens) of which the leaves have a sweet smell when bruised. The paths in between are usually laid with fine gravel. However, the original designs of knot gardens did not have the low box hedges, and knot gardens with such hedges might more accurately be called Parterres.