The early French gardens were based on Italian garden design, which were very remote from nature.
French garden art was elevated to an impressive standard during the period of Le Notre who served in the Royal Garden of Louis XIV from 1643 to 1715. He evolved a new style of greatest significance, profoundly architectural and formal in character
The main features of his mode of gardening rest upon long and wide avenues and vistas.
Rectangles, squares and circles gave an orderly appearance to the garden.
It is, in fact, a perfect example of the application of geometry to garden design, clipped hedges, framed walls and greenrooms.
Trees were clipped into the shape of spheres, cubes and cones.
Against the background of the foliage were displayed marble statues of Greek gods, nymphs and horses.
Plants used in the gardens were olive, peach, apricot, fig, almond, walnut, plum, cherry, orange, and European hornbeams (Carpinus betulus), apart from several ornamentals.
Last modified: Saturday, 10 December 2011, 11:30 AM
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