Much of the right-hand court is occupied by the privy garden created by Dudley for the queen. Now known as the Elizabethan Garden, it has been recreated on the basis of archaeological evidence and an account of the 1575 festivities by Robert Langham.
The two arbours, one at each end of the terrace, described by Langham as ‘perfumed with sweet trees and flowers’, are now planted with scented plants (vines, honeysuckle, sweet musk rose).
The garden is divided into quarters, with a pierced obelisk at the centre of each. Each quarter is subdivided into two knots, defined by low privet hedges, wit patterns of planting based on contemporary Flemish drawings. All the flowering plants used were popular in Elizabeth’s day (carnations, pinks, stocks, wallflowers) and the focal points of the knots are small trees and shrubs.
At the centre of the garden is a spectacular fountain in Carrara marble. The faces of the octagonal basin are carved with scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.