In front of Montacute is the Parterre à l’Angloise. This draws on the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century practice of making a parterre in grass. In England it was often called a cut grass parterre. In France it was known as a parterre à l’Angloise or parterre à l’Anglaise because grass was an English speciality. In England the shapes were often simple rectangles, but in Europe, especially Germany, they were often complicated baroque shapes. Here the shape is generated by the gravel path, which is generated by the existing elements. The path starts at the terrace steps, curves around on either side until it meets the two monkey-puzzle trees, where it curves in wards to give them space, before curving around to the Chinoiserie fabrique.
It is sesigned to be seen best from the bedroom window upstairs, where you can look down on it.
