About the Park
The French garden
The original apple tree alley creates the axis of the French garden. There are meadows on both sides. Their boundaries are a sycamore maple alley to the north and the trees that line the brook in the south. The formally arranged garden forms a terrace that elevates it above the valley of the brook. It is supported by the terrain edge and ends in a pavilion. The system of paths is orthogonal and the sandy paths are delineated by steel bands.
The vista ends with an apple tree bosquet of 8 x 8 old apple tree varieties planted in a regular square raster with short distances between the individual trees so that the individual treetops intertwine to form a canopy. The closed space of the bosquet contrasts with the open space of the meadows and offers a pleasant hideaway.
The space is accentuated by the pavilion, stone and wooden bridges across the brook and furniture. The design of these elements unites the modern and romantic approach. The bridge is tiled with sandstone and the banister is made of oak slats.
The pavilion is an abstract white cube with a concrete base positioned in the green of the lawn with its corners armed by jardinières and a floor made of oak nogs. The pavilion, wooden bridges and benches are reminiscent of constructivism and are made of beams, boards and slats. They have a white varnish to attenuate the romantic appeal of wood and to remind us of the formal features of this part of the park.
The English garden
The English garden surrounds the chateau and spans the whole length of the park towards the pond in Ctěnice on the right side of the brook. It relates to the French garden like the world behind the mirror. The pond in the centre of the park is the actual mirror that reflects the other face of the park.
In the vicinity of the chateau the garden is calm with individual trees and groups of trees scattered across the lawn. It gets more dramatic as it follows the right bank of the brook where the terrain slopes, becomes overgrown with ivy with small rocks jutting out and ends with a vista of the pond behind the wall of the park.
Original romantic elements, the chateau itself, the moat, a sandstone grotto and a well at the foot of the slope are welcome accents of this part of the park. The revitalized lea with alders and willows on the banks is an organic part of the park.
Gardening
A gardening area has been proposed as a park within a park. It will bring to the chateau part currently consisting of romantic and orthogonal parts a new quality of space - framed, non-orthogonal, organic. It recalls the chateau kitchen or vegetable garden and vineyard around Ctěnice in the 16th century.
A new service shed - the Adder House - is situated on land along the northwest rampart. It was conceived as a light wooden structure covered in horizontal planks placed on supports, and will contain a wardrobe and storage area for the garden’s operation. It is situated so that its entrance lies the same distance from the vista’s axis as the entrance to the current greenhouse.
The thus-created assembly area upon entering from the park is bordered from the other side by fruit trees (cherry trees) in the same shape systematically from the vista’s axis. In front of the house and the current greenhouse is a consolidated service area. In the turning circle for service vehicles a tree has been planted (a Japanese Pagoda).
The vehicular entrance to the garden from the outside runs through the rampart continuing the service road along the park’s northern rampart. The land has been graded into two levels with the lower one accommodating the new house, the entrance to the current greenhouse, a reserve for seedbeds and a fortified area leading to the new service vehicle entrance to the garden.
From this lower level, access is provided via concrete riding stairs to the higher level, containing seedbeds and vineyards along the northeast rampart. Along the northwest rampart there is a row of trees (peach trees) spaced closely (4.5 m) forming a background for both structures, the current greenhouse and the service shed.
Photogallery
