Right after the restoration of the castle began, work began on creating a park and several gardens, which were to be as spectacular as the castle itself. Designing and laying out the gardens was no easy matter. In addition to reconstructing the old gardens, the characteristics of the surrounding landscape, a meadow area, had to be preserved.
Architect Pierre Cuypers is also very involved in the garden and park layouts; especially in the gardens directly near the castle, many ideas seem to be his. Thereby the influence of Baron Etienne himself, who has very decisive ideas about architecture, interior and landscaping, is also of great importance. However, they encounter many (technical) problems.
The baron finally submitted these problems to landscape architect Hendrik Copijn in 1895. He then solved the problems skilfully. Under his supervision, an English landscape park was created in the vast landscape within which - around the castle - French style gardens were laid out. The gardens are partly a reconstruction of the original gardens with water features, groves, vegetable gardens and aviaries and partly an addition to them.
Baron Etienne's wish was to immediately give the park a mature appearance. This was realized in a spectacular way. From all over the province of Utrecht, 40-year-old trees were brought to De Haar. About 7,000 trees were transported overnight on jigs. These trees are about 140 years old!
Directly around the castle are a number of geometric gardens that are mainly decorative in character, such as the Roman Garden, which takes its name from the shape of a Roman racecourse. Here one particular detail from Copijn's design can be found, the "Ha Ha." A Ha Ha is an embankment that limits the view from the road, making the park appear to flow seamlessly into the Zuiderpark, where Golf Club De Haar can now be found.
Also in the park is the Rose Garden, with the monument commemorating Etienne's eldest son, Baron Hélin van Zuylen van Nijevelt, who died in a car accident in Rumst near Antwerp in 1912 at the age of 24. The demolished column refers to Hélin's life ended too soon. In the Rose Garden there are over 1,200 roses in 79 different varieties. Every summer these roses are in beautiful bloom.
Over the past 10 years, Copijn's style gardens have undergone considerable restoration. The most impressive restoration is that of the Grote Cour. This forecourt in front of the castle's castle steps has been restored to its original design by Copijn. To this end, the Cour was raised by 1,800m3 of soil, provided with new paths and circles and, for the first time in 40 years, the family crest was planted in the middle of the forecourt.
The Grand Canal or Cross Pond is a real eye catcher north of the castle. From the end of this elongated pond one has a fine view of the castle, with the knight's tower reflected exactly in the middle of the pond in fine weather.
In addition to the style gardens, Hendrik Copijn designed a landscape-style garden for the Noorder- and Zuiderpark, in which extensive ponds, a deer park, a maze and beautiful views define the character. Here one can enjoy a daily walk over the many bridges and winding paths.
