Saturday, January 3, 2009

French Garden Designs

By Melissa Burgendy

We get the word "horticulture" from the Latin word, "hortus", which means "garden", and "cultura", which means "cultivation". Gardening is an art, and as with all art forms, there are a number of styles to choose from.

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.

An important characteristic of formal gardens in France are Parterres. On the ground intricate geometric patterns are made using a variety of materials such as colored dirt, stones, gravel or flowers. Parterres are often lined with boxwood, lavender, or rosemary. Some parterres are particularly elaborate. These are known as parterres de broderies, or embroidery parterres. From the garden terraces the visitors can see the parterres.

* 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 gardens feature many ornamental objects from statues and columns to birdbaths and sundials. These are placed symmetrically, at the end of an allee, for example.

* Plants: Color is the foundation of the planting pattern. Most French gardens feature light, pastel colors with hints of yellow, red, orange, lilac and blue. Perennials are the best choice for gardeners.

* 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 French garden style is well-planned and organized, providing different locations for various gardens types such as fruit, rose or herb. 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. Places to rest are in places where you can see the beauty of a garden. Some of the more common French herbs are 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.

If you aren't planning a visit to France, you can still get an idea of the traditional formal French garden style by visiting the Conservatory Garden in the northern sector of New York City's Central Park.

Gardens in France have inspired designers from all around earth. France does also have gardens that aren't as formal such as the Giverney garden, which is the subject of many of Claude Monet's Impressionist paintings.

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