Sunday, January 4, 2009

French Garden Style and Design

By Melissa Burgendy

The simplest definition for the word horticulture is the cultivation of a garden, Hortus, in Latin, means garden and cultura means cultivation. Garden cultivation is considered a form of art and, like all art forms, it has different styles.

The traditional garden is designed in the traditional 17th and 18th century French style, also known as the Baroque and Rococo periods. The gardens of the period were grand gardens, displays of wealth and authority, built by kings and members of the aristocracy to impress visitors. Inspired in part by ancient classical gardens, traditional French garden style is formal. Spanning level ground, these geometrically shaped gardens are very well planned out in regards to their design. The terraces that are often a feature of such gardens are artificially created, and elaborately designed stairs are included to link one terrace to another. Because of the largely flat topography, traditional French gardens use large sheets of water for their reflective qualities or as impressive, artificial fountain displays. Here you will find a list of the main components of traditional, formal, French garden design.

* Often you will find boxed hedges and rectangular frames that help to contain lawns.

* Flowerbeds are also geometrical in shape rectangular, oval or circular.

The French gardens which are formal have an important feature of Parterres in them. On the ground intricate geometric patterns are made using a variety of materials such as colored dirt, stones, gravel or flowers. Boxwood, lavender, and rosemary are usually used to line parterres. Exceptionally elaborate parterres are called parterres de broderies, embroidery parterres. Visitors can view parterres from garden terraces.

* Water features are mostly canals and large, flat pools. Water fountains are also important, but are usually engine-operated.

* The French garden style included alles, or axes or rides, which were used for the walks and pathways and bordered by trees and neatly clipped hedges. Usually with a destination in mind, these paths may end at a type of garden ornament.

* French Garden Ornaments: In French garden designs, you will find a lot of statues, columns, trellises, sundials, birdbaths and more. Symmetrical placement occurs with these objects.

* Plants: Color is the foundation of the planting pattern. French gardens predominantly use pastel colors with a touches of yellow, red or orange and some lilac and blue. Ideally, gardeners should choose plants that bloom all year round.

* Primarily French in origin, and available as an optional feature, Orangerie is a large glass-enclosed room in the garden where you'll find lemon, lime, and orange trees blooming during the cold winter months.

* Herb gardens are often included in traditional French gardens. The neat French garden style usually includes separate areas for a fruit garden, a rose garden and sometimes a herb garden too. The herb gardens are another feature of the garden and are not just herb patches. Paving is used in a specific pattern a chessboard pattern or a circular pattern, laid out like the spokes of a wheel. Seats are often placed in the center or in a corner of herb gardens. Common French herbs include lavender, rosemary, sage, marjoram, thyme, and sweet bay.

A famous example of the traditional French formal garden style described above is the Versailles Gardens located just outside Paris. King Louis IV hired landscape architect Andr Le Ntre to create the Versailles Gardens, in 1661. Versailles's western side features gardens spanning 800 hectares or 400 acres. Not only do these gardens feature many expensive ornaments, they also boast carefully cared for lawns and numerous blooming flowers. The gardens' most fascinating feature are their 1,400 fountains. The garden was watered with water from the Seine River which was supplied by a pumping system. Still, there was never enough water to run all the fountains at once. As King Louis would enter the garden, the fountains would start. These days their hours of operation are restricted to Sundays.

Not going to France any time soon? You can still visit a traditional French garden just by stopping by the Conservatory Garden, located in the North side of Central Park in New York City.

Although the traditional formal garden style developed in France influenced garden designers throughout the world, French gardens are by no means all traditional in style. France has many less formal gardens, including the Giverney garden overflowing with blooming flowers as shown in Monet's beautiful paintings. - 16492

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