A carpet of new flowers: Changeover in the Char Bagh Garden

Head of operations, Gus Flower, says it takes a team of around eight to 10 staff the best part of three days to complete. The garden has four large flower beds sunken below the level of the paths, giving the effect of a floral Persian carpet growing at ground level. 

Gus says this creates a ‘wow’ moment when visitors walk into the garden, but from a gardening perspective, it is not easy to pull off. 

“It goes against the grain for how bedding plants are meant to be planted. You’ve got these plants growing really tight together below the ground level. So the humidity, especially in summer, can be quite intense there. You're trying to force things a bit, but that's gardening all over, sort of showcasing your skills.” 

Initially, the garden only had two changeovers a year, but this proved problematic. “We found that having just two changeovers made the garden suffer in winter, the plants would get hit hard by the weather and would not be looking their best during the transition from winter to spring.” 

Because the beds are planted so tightly, they must be thoroughly weeded before the new plants go in. With such limited space to manoeuvre, any future weeding becomes very difficult. 

“I always joke that when we advertise for gardeners the criteria should be they must have small feet so they can weave between all the plants. It all comes down to this thing of preparation again, you really must prepare the beds so they’re totally weed-free when you've cleared out all the old stuff,” says Gus. 

The soil also needs to be given compost and fertiliser as the bedding plants are very hungry and need a lot of nutrients. The range of plants is selected to reflect its historical roots in the dry desert-like conditions of Persia. “We try to be as authentic as possible. Flowers include poppies, sunflowers, antirrhinums, and tulips,” says Gus.

One of the difficult things about the changeover is managing the confined space. The route to the garden is via a pedestrian entrance so all the plants, soil, and compost must go in and out through a narrow passage. Any more than eight to 10 gardeners and they start getting in each other’s way, says Gus. 

“But it's such a popular garden for visitors and for events that we don’t want it to be closed for long so it's a real focus to get the done as quickly as possible. Two and a half days is our record.” 

Preparing the garden 

The garden is one of the most popular wedding venues in Hamilton Gardens as well being one of the favourite gardens for many of our visitors whether they are seeking a fun family day out or looking for inspiration among our beautiful Enclosed Gardens. This means it is important to keep the garden looking at its best all year round. 

With the plants so close together the gardeners must be extremely careful to avoid any diseases or pests establishing.  Good drainage is essential and to aid this the soil is raked so that it is very slightly mounded towards the middle. The mounding should be high enough to allow water to drain but not so high it is noticeable to visitors.  

“Having three complete bedding change overs each year puts a lot of pressure on the four garden areas with the plants sucking the life out of that soil over time.  The young bedding plants are very hungry and in producing wonderful displays they take out a lot of goodness from the soil.  Replenishing the health of the soil ensures the plants are robust against infection or disease”. 

“You’ve got to be really diligent and the moment you see anything that doesn't look quite right, just sort it out.  This helps to guarantee you'll have three great displays a year.  Supporting this we have a small amount of top-up plants available to say hey that patch is looking dodgy, get it out and replace with new plants.” 

The three changeovers take place around August, then November or December, and again in April or May.  

“We want some sort of fluidness about the timing so we can make sure the new plants are ready, the weather is right, and everything is prepared.” 

The garden is closed to the public during this time. 

Short History of Char Bagh Gardens 

Char Bagh Gardens originated in Persia before spreading with Islam to influence garden design from Asia to southern Spain. They are described as the original ‘Paradise Gardens’ and their design reflects the four gardens of paradise described in Islam’s holy book, the Quran. Their four quadrants are traditionally divided by walkways or flowing water. Char Bagh literally means ‘four gardens’. 

The design at Hamilton Gardens is based on the garden of a small hunting palace called Lal Mahal, near the city of Agra, southeast of Delhi. This is a riverside Char Bagh Garden known as ‘Kursi-cum-char bagh’. These were mostly small residential gardens built along city riverbanks. The most famous of this style is the world-renowned Taj Mahal.

Char Bagh Gardens came to India during the Mughal rule from the 1550s to the 1850s. The Mughals were Muslim descendants of Genghis Khan who ruled a vast empire including India, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Bangladesh.

The garden would have been the preserve of the elite, as a tranquil oasis to relax in while listening to the cool burble of gently running water. You can imagine social gatherings, poetry readings, music, and other cultural activities taking place here, far from the hot dusty streets of the city beyond the walls.