FRENCH FRENCH GARDENS.GARDENS. 18th century

MAGNIFIQUE BAROQUE STYLE.

(JARDIN A LA FRANCAISE)

First French GardenFirst French Garden.

Creating a setting for the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicompte and outbuildings out of a wild area of around 100 acres (40 hectares) by LE NÔTRE  and LEVAU …….created for the first and only time in the seventeenth century, a perfect harmony between architecture and its environment(landscaping).

The French garden… The French gardens were inspired by

the “Italian renaissance garden. symmetry and geometry are the

keywords when designing such gardens.

the whole of garden is composed like a painting reaching for pure aesthetical qualities.

Like a painting, it is also created to be seen as a whole

ADDING AESTHETICS…..

Most French gardens were designed to be looked at from specific places, such as terraces or balconies.

The overall impression of the French landscaping style is one of harmony, one of power of man over nature, where every tree and every bush is given a chosen location and shape.

Plants and Trees to use in French Formal Design

TREES:-

Trees are planted in straight lines and clipped to keep a perfect shape and size. They may be formed into shapes to form topiary.

Trees used in the Gardens of Versaille were:- Hornbeam, Beech, Chestnut, Elm and Linden for the most part.

Hornbeam and Beech are easy to prune and shape making them particularly good trees for formal gardens.

Plants and Trees to use in French Formal Design

HEDGES :- The clipped hedges are usually box, lavender, rosemary

and occasionally santoline. Regular trimming to stop them going 'leggy' and 'woody' is important.

VEGETABLES :- Many French Chateax have wonderful vegetable

gardens with the vegetables laid out in patterns and parterres in the style of the ornamental formal gardens.

Plants and Trees to use in French Formal Design

PLANTS:- Bedding plants and bulbs are popular

choices for parterres with for example, parterres filled with bulbs in formal patterns for spring flowering and then taken out and replaced with bedding plants for the late-spring and summer.

KEY FEATURES

The focus of the garden tends to be the house, usually a palace or chateau and paths radiate out of this creating long axial views.

A geometric plan is used and symettry is very important.

A central axis leads away from the house - perpendicular to the house.

Paths tend to be gravel and edged with clipped hedges and topiary laid out in symmetrical patterns.

Statuary is often used in French Garden Design. Pavilions and 'follies' are often incorporated too.

KEY FEATURES Water is often a key feature of French garden design and lots

of round pools and long rectangles of water will be incorporated, the reflection of the water adding to the symmetry and tranquillity of the scene.  Fountains and cascades are also very common features.

Close to the house planting is kept low (no trees) and tends to consist of parterres. Parterres close to the house can be quite intricately patterened and will tend to become more simple further from the house.

Further from the house paths are often edged with trees, these are almost almost always manipulated in some way (see below). Trees are always planted in straight lines adding perspective and reinforcing the symmetry of the garden.

FRENCH GARDENS

FRENCH GARDENS

DIFFERENT TYPES OF STATUARYDIFFERENT TYPES OF STATUARY FORMS AND WATER BODIES USEDFORMS AND WATER BODIES USEDIN THE DESIGN OF FRENCH GARDENSIN THE DESIGN OF FRENCH GARDENS..

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