Although Kirchheim Palace was never used as a residence or a summer residence, a suitable expanse and quality of the gardens was still required. Primarily areas within the medieval fortress complex were used by both Franziska of Hohenheim and Duchess Henriette until 1811 and 1857 respectively. Only little of the once rich gardens around the palace, which were divided into five areas, can still be seen today.
The gardens were probably laid out as a star-shaped square in the center on the other side of what is today Allenstraße; both meadows and vegetable gardens were cultivated. In addition, the Equestrian Building (Reithaus) was also located here. Following the death of Duchess Henriette the garden was repeatedly leased out by the royal Treasury Administration Office. The new train line from Kirchheim to Oberlenningen divided it into two halves beginning in 1898/1899; today it has completely disappeared.
The pleasure garden was laid out on the area of the filled-in palace mote northwest of the palace in 1846/47. It had the typical, high-quality design of the 19th century with a winding path and plantings of tree and shrubs. There were certainly also herbaceous plants and flowering annuals. Since 1955 the garden has been cut up by a fence and a footpath from the palace square to Alleenstraße.
It lies between the palace and the stables building (Marstallgebäude). Duchess Franziska had a greenhouse erected there in 1797, which was later demolished to build a tithe barn (Zehntscheuer). After this was torn down, an English-style garden was laid out for Duchess Henriette in 1846. From 1919 the area served as a school garden for botany and mineralogy. This was given up in 1939 when the garden was opened to the general public.
This garden lies on the vaulting of the 250 foot (75 meter) long casemates. An avenue of red-blossoming chestnuts, trellises with roses and flower beds led in a linear arrangement from the rooms on the third floor via the casemates to an ornate complex on the bulwark. There winding paths and hills planted with flowers contrasted romantically with the severity of the chestnut avenue.
To rediscover the paradise of the terraced garden lost in the course of many decades, clearing work was carried out on the wild, overgrown grounds in the winter of 1999. In 2007, the anniversary year of Henriette's death, part of the garden was uncovered and laid out again in simple form according to the historical example.