Tudor Gardens unveiled in New Zealand at Hamilton Gardens

Santa Monica, Calif., – The Tudor Gardens, a beautiful form of fantasy garden, has been recreated by Hamilton Gardens and opens this month. Visitors to Tudor Gardens can explore mythical creatures, an intricate knot garden, arbour, pudding house and the mischievous Pan who was the Greek god of the wild and companion of the nymphs.

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Positioned alongside the Waikato River, this traditional garden reflects the fascination 16th century English aristocracy had with geometric patterns and symbolism with double meanings. The intricate knot garden is based upon the drawings by Didymus Mountain – the pen name of 16th century writer Thomas Hill – and has been under construction since 2011. Carved mythical beasts perched on green and white striped poles are seen throughout the garden – a griffin, dragon, centaur, phoenix, unicorn, satyr, sea serpent and Bottom – one of the primary characters from William Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They hold sculptural crests of some of the “rock stars” of Tudor times, including privateer and slaver Sir Francis Drake, who was notorious for his many plunderous journeys sanctioned by Elizabeth I. Hamilton Gardens has a unique concept. Not a botanical garden, it has been compared to a museum with each garden collection having historic integrity while providing a window into the story of civilizations, their arts, beliefs and lifestyles. They have 21 themed garden areas with more being developed. Hamilton is located on the North Island, 124 kilometres south east of Auckland. The Hamilton Gardens are free to the public.