How We're Designing Hampton Court's Great Fountain Garden (And The Principles You Can Steal)

I've been up to my elbows in historical plans, paintings and illustrations of Hampton Court Palace, the whole AMPG team immersed in reimagining the Great Fountain Garden, and though there's no doubt the redesign has its challenges, it's all a total joy.

I thought you might enjoy a peek behind the palace walls to see how we're approaching this monumental task, and how you might steal some of our process for your own gardens without risking even a hint of 'Off with your head'!

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From Baroque to Biodiversity

As a garden designer, there's something surreal about standing in a garden you’ve been tasked to work on that was first designed in 1689. As I try to channel Daniel Marot's spirit – the designer behind those stunning Baroque patterns, radiating yew avenues, and 13 original fountains – I'm also considering modern concerns like climate resilience and biodiversity.

Daniel Marot By Jacob Gole - Rijksmuseum

As with all gardens we design, it's a magnificent puzzle, but this time with pieces from different centuries.

We’ve been poring through garden archives to understand how this space has evolved from William and Mary’s Dutch-influenced formal garden through Queen Anne’s simplifications to the Victorian era’s flamboyant bedding displays also learning about the once 2,300 foot herbaceous border introduced in 1897 – quite possibly the world’s longest at that time!

All this background research can take you off on tangents, down metaphorical rabbit holes, and through a maze of contributing factors to arrive exactly where you started. In truth, it’s been rather epic, but these historical gems and The Royal Palace’s project brief have all been crucial in informing our contemporary reimagining, providing both inspiration and context for our designs.

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Sustainable Splendour in a Royal Setting

One of our biggest challenges has been figuring out how to maintain the jaw-dropping visual impact Hampton Court Palace is known for, while drastically reducing its environmental footprint. I was shocked when I learned that the palace’s greenhouses are currently its biggest gas consumers. All those bedding plants require enormous amounts of energy to produce – something we’re determined to change.

We’re planning a shift from energy-intensive annual bedding to predominantly perennial schemes that will:

• Develop deeper root systems for improved soil structure

• Increase carbon sequestration

• Create year-round wildlife habitats

• Maintain that bold, vibrant aesthetic Hampton Court deserves

The exciting part is that we’re not compromising on spectacle – we’re just achieving it more sustainably. We’ll still incorporate strategic pockets of high-impact annuals to maintain that ‘wow factor’, allowing the palace’s skilled gardeners to showcase their horticultural expertise.

Steal This Idea: Save time, water and money by considering dedicating just 20% of your planting space to seasonal annuals for those bursts of summer colour, with 80% given to permanent plantings that offer structure and successional bloom.

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Thank you to all my paid subscribers who make My Real Gardens possible!

In this week's newsletter, I'll be sharing:

· Our approach to plant selection for a historic royal garden

· How we're addressing climate resilience while honouring Hampton Court's heritage

· The sustainable revolution happening at the Palace

· Lots of planting design ideas for you to steal

· Practical design ratios you can apply to any garden

· My five favourite garden discoveries this week!

If you're enjoying these newsletters as a free subscriber and find yourself wanting more of the same, perhaps now is the perfect time to consider joining our community of paid subscribers. You'll gain full access to every article, exclusive content, and the ability to participate in our live sessions - all while supporting independent garden writing that puts plants and people first. No pressure though - I'm just happy you're here reading!

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