Tuesday 1 July 2014
The French formal
garden, also called jardin a la
française, is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of
imposing order over nature. It reached its apogee in the 17th century with the
creation of the Gardens of Versailles, designed for Louis XIV by the landscape
architect Andre Le Notre. The style was widely copied by other courts of Europe.
The Garden a la française
evolved from the French Renaissance garden, a style which was inspired by the Italian
Renaissance garden at the beginning of the 16th century. The Italian
Renaissance garden, typified by the Boboli Gardens in Florence and the Villa
Medici in Fiesole, was characterized by planting beds, or parterres, created in
geometric shapes, and laid out symmetrical patterns; the use of fountains and cascades
to animate the garden; stairways and ramps to unite different levels of the
garden; grottos, labyrinths, and statuary on mythological themes. The gardens
were designed to represent harmony and order, the ideals of the Renaissance,
and to recall the virtues of Ancient Rome. Source
