When Peter the Great started arranging his summer residence here, there was practically no solid soil on the site of the garden. The land had to be drained with the help of numerous canals and ponds and brought in a huge amount of bulk soil.

Peter loved the symmetry and proportionality of the composition, so the location of all buildings, paths, canals and fountains was strictly in accordance with the plans, and each tree stood in its place. There were large and small palaces, greenhouses, poultry houses and vegetable gardens. The king attached special importance to the fountains — there were fifty of them in the garden.

And, of course, the main pride of the Summer Garden was and remains its sculptures. Peter also laid the foundation for the collection: art connoisseurs were sent to Italy by him and acquired works by modern and sometimes ancient masters.

The Tsar was jealous of outsiders visiting his residence, even for assemblies and holidays only the chosen ones were allowed here. Only by the beginning of the 19th century, visiting the garden became available to ordinary people.

A special attraction of the park is its fence. The pillars with vases for it were carved from Finnish granite by 144 craftsmen of the village of Putilova for more than ten years, and the iron bars and gates were forged by Tula blacksmiths.

Floods and vandals caused huge damage to the park, but Petersburgers carefully restored it. During the last restoration in 2009-2011, most of the sculptures (currently 92) were replaced by modern copies, and the restored originals are stored in museums.