Topic summary
Garden of Holland
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Dutch garden.
Garden of Holland
The small, fenced, Garden of Holland, defended by the Dutch Maiden and the Batavian Lion was, and to some extent still is, a popular patriotic metaphor for the independence of the Netherlands, first seen in the late 16th century. It draws from the medieval Hortus Conclusus. Many prints and forms of the decorative arts depict it, a few of which have interest from the garden history angle. Where there is a single tree in the garden, it represents the House of Orange, which often needs re-planting.