The Semicircle
The Semicircle is a true sea of flowers in the summer, while the straight symmetric lines of its beds are visible in the winter. The shape - and the use of box (Buxus) hedges - are clearly reminiscent of the formal garden architecture that was popular before the Romantic Movement. The Semicircle was, however, designed in 1863.
The Semicircle portrays plant systematics: species that are closely related can be found growing near each other, while those that have little in common are grown far apart. This is the first and only systematic garden in The Netherlands in which the plants are categorized according to 'molecular systematics'. This kind of systematics is based on the similarities between genetic material.
Read for more information on systematics in the Hortus.