Garden of the King (Versailles)

The garden of the king in the era of Louis XIV

The selected area was not at all suitable for building a garden and, as a result, considerable work was required to drain the swamp that existed here and fill the fertile soil. At first, the land freed up by digging the neighboring Swiss basin was brought here, on top of it laid fertile soil taken from the nearby Satori hills . Then, the formed beds were abundantly fertilized with a large amount of manure, which was transported to the garden from the Small Stables located nearby ^[1] .

Significant construction work on the construction of terraces and high walls was carried out under the supervision of architect Jules Arduin-Mansard . Moreover, the beautiful walls made of hollow bricks, in addition to the protective and decorative functions, performed the task of accumulating daylight heat from sunlight, which they gave to plants at night. Greenhouses have not yet been built in France.

The garden was located on the side of the Swiss basin , not far from the palace Orangery . The king got into the garden through the monumental wrought iron gate, the "king's gate", which went out into the alley near the Swiss basin .

The modern look of the garden is very reminiscent of its original appearance. It covers an area of ​​9 hectares . The garden has a round pool with a fountain in the center, surrounded by Grand Carré - the "big square" consisting of 16 square beds of plants. Above this square rises a terrace, from where the king could observe the work of gardeners. Grand Carré is surrounded by a high wall, behind which 29 fenced gardens are planted with vegetables and fruit trees. The thoughtful layout of the various segments of the garden forms various specific microclimates, which allowed La Kentini to grow vegetables and fruits outside the usual season.

In his book Instruction pour les jardins fruitiers et potagers , ^[2] La Kentini writes:

Both soil and air can be regularly heated only thanks to the sun. Nevertheless, I must say that I was very happy when I was able to imitate it for several small fruits: thanks to this, I got the crop five to six weeks ahead of schedule, for example, strawberries ripened in late March, peas in April, figs in June, asparagus and head of lettuce in December and January ...

Original text (Fr.)

la chaleur, tant dans la terre que dans l'air ne peut regulièrement venir que des rayons du soleil. J'ose dire pourtant que j'ai été assez heureux pour l'imiter en petit à l'égard de quelques petits fruits: j'en ai fait mûrir cinq et six semaines devant le temps, par exemple des fraises à la fin mars, des précoces, et des pois en avril, des figues en juin, des asperges et des laitues pommées en décembre, janvier ...

- La Quintinie, Instruction pour les jardins fruitiers et potagers

Since Louis XIV was very fond of figs , La Kentini arranged a separate fig grove in the garden ( French figuerie ); a special garden in the recess, sheltered from winter precipitation, due to which he received the first crop of figs already in mid-June. He also had separate sections for melons and watermelons; three gardens for "spicy greens, cucumbers and other green leaves"; and a separate garden for strawberries and cherries. He cultivated 50 varieties of pear trees and 20 varieties of apples served on the table to the king, as well as 16 different varieties of lettuce ^[3] .

During the reign of Louis XIV, the garden was a very large “enterprise”; 30 experienced gardeners were required to care for garden plots, greenhouses, and 12,000 trees. And in 1682, the king ordered the director of the garden of La Kentini to build his house here, as well as housing for gardeners ^[4] .

Louis XIV was very proud of the new garden. On July 31, 1684 , as Danjo wrote in his Diary of the Court of Louis XIV , the king “walked in his gardens and in the garden, where he allowed everyone who accompanied him to collect and eat fruit” ^[5] .

Louis XIV, visiting the garden, brought with him important guests, for example, the Ambassador of Siam or the Doge of Venice , to show them the wonders of gardening. He also sent out samples of his favorite pear tree variety Bon Chrétien , ^[6] as a gift to heads of other states.

The variety of plant varieties grown in the royal garden was a must for discussion at Versailles dinner. As Madame de Sevigne wrote , “The craze for peas continues; over the past four days, our princes discussed three topics, the impatient wait for the peas to be served, the eating of peas, and the pleasure of eating peas. ” ^[7]

Since 1685, when Saint-Gobain manufactory began to produce large-sized glass, the opportunity appeared to grow plants under glass frames and even in wood-heated greenhouses. The combination of different cultivation methods allowed serving fresh vegetables and fruits to the table to the king even outside the usual season. A building was specially built to shelter seven hundred tubs with figs for the winter, so the king’s favorite fruit was harvested for 6 months a year ^[8] .

La Kentini ran gardens until his death in 1688. Then his position was briefly held by Le Kentini's colleague, Nicolas Besnard ( Fr. Nicolas Besnard ), and in 1690 he was replaced by Francois Le Normand ( Fr. François Le Normand ). The two sons of Le Norman and their subsequent heirs led the king’s garden for the next 90 years. They formed a new site for asparagus cultivation, and also carried out huge restoration work of the gardens after the especially severe frosts of 1709.

From the era of Louis XV to the French Revolution

After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the royal court left Versailles and the costs of maintaining gardens were significantly reduced. Francois II Le Norman in a large square Grand Carré broke a grassy lawn and experimented with new varieties of plants. The mayor of Amsterdam at one time presented Louis XIV with a coffee tree ; Le Norman was able to grow 12 coffee trees each 4 meters high in the greenhouse of the garden so that King Louis XV could be served coffee brewed from beans grown in his own garden.

The court of Louis XV returned to Versailles in 1723 and Louis Le Norman, who became the director of the king’s garden after the death of his brother Francois, re-planted greens and lettuce in Grand Carré . He also built a tented greenhouse , known as the Dutch greenhouse , where, starting in 1735, he was able to grow pineapples . By the time of the French Revolution , 800 pineapple bushes were growing in greenhouses ^[9] .

In 1750, the king’s garden was headed by Jacques-Louis Le Norman. He built three new heated greenhouses and expanded scientific research in the gardens. Now the royal garden did not deliver ordinary vegetables and fruits to the court of Versailles, but only the rarest and most unusual ones. Le Norman experimented with rare plant species, such as euphorbia , jasmine , Latania palms and bananas imported into the country by French travelers.

Jacques-Louis Le Norman, the last representative of the family of directors of the king’s garden , died in 1782, and the estate passed into the control of Alexander Brown, a gardener with English roots, who formerly worked in the gardens of the royal palace of Choisy. Brown refreshed the garden, reducing the size of the pond in the center, and dismantled the walls between the eleven sections on the northern terrace, forming five sections. ^[ten]

In 1785, the Earl of Provence , brother of King Louis XVI , the future King Louis XVIII , bought for himself and his favorite, Anna Nompar de Comon Countess de Balbi, an estate adjacent to the king’s garden . After that, he commissioned his court architect Jean-Francois Chalgren to design and build a country house (known as Le pavillon de la pièce d'eau des Suisses ) along with a landscape park (known as Parc Balbi ). A winding stream flowed in the new garden, islands and a belvedere were set up at the top of an artificial grotto, in the figurative picturesque style of the time. In 1798, the pavilion and landscape elements were destroyed, but traces of alleys and a pond are still visible in our time.

After the French Revolution and to this day

In 1793, during the French Revolution, garden plots were leased, and tools and plants, including 800 pineapple bushes, were sold at auction. In 1795, the Convention announced the nationalization of the garden , tenant farmers were expelled, and a school and a research center were opened in the garden.

By the time of the restoration of the monarchy, after the fall of Napoleon I , most of the garden was overgrown, and many trees had died in the gardens. The new director re-planted the orchard and continued to grow early vegetables. In 1829, new greenhouses heated by hot water were mounted, which allowed the cultivation of the most exotic tropical fruits and vegetables, and in 1840, a banana crop was obtained in the Big Greenhouse .

In 1848, the garden became part of the new Agronomic National Institute , opened in Versailles, and the following year, the agronomist Auguste Hardy ( French Auguste Hardy ) was appointed director. Ardi led the school during the Second Republic , then during the Second Empire of Napoleon III and then during the Third Republic . In 1874, the school was transformed into the National School of Horticulture (ENH) ( French École nationale d'horticulture ). During the years of Ardi’s leadership, 9,000 plants, 309 varieties of apple trees, 557 varieties of pears and 94 varieties of peaches grew in the garden ^[11] .

Ardi died in 1891 and Jules Nano took over as director. The school began to study in the field of landscape architecture and gardening; between 1892 and 1905, the famous landscape designer Eduard Andre , and then his son, Renee-Eduard, took this training here. In 1945, a special department of landscape design and horticultural art was opened.

In 1961, the ENH School became a Higher School , and in 1976 the National Higher School of Landscape Art (ENSP) ( French École nationale supérieure du paysage ) was opened, which was joined to ENH. In 1995, the ENH school moved to Angers , and the king’s garden was taken over by the ENSP High School.

Since 1991, the garden is open to the public (from the first weekend of April to the last weekend of October). Every year, over 50 tons of fruits and 30 tons of vegetables are grown here, which are sold in Versailles markets and in the school itself. In addition to the curriculum, the school regularly restores the cultivation of historical plant species and carries out an extensive experimental program. Students undergo two-year preliminary training, and then spend another 4 years studying at Versailles, during which they conduct research on their small land plots, and also plan and carry out projects on specific soils ^[12] .

• Stéphanie de Courtois, École nationale supérieure du paysage. Le potager du roi . - Actes sud, 2003. - 70 p. - ISBN 9782742745050 .
• Pierre Verlet . Palace of Versailles = Le château de Versailles. - 2nd ed., Revised. - Paris: A. Fayard, 1985 .-- 740 p. - ISBN 978-2-213-01600-9 . (fr.)
• Pierre-André Lablaude. Les Jardins de Versailles . - Paris: Nouvelles éditions Scala, 2010 .-- 231 p. - ISBN 9782359880205 .

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to The King's Garden (Versailles)
• Garden of the king (Fr.) . Higher School Website ENSP. Date of treatment February 5, 2013.
• The video about the Garden of the King (Fr.) . Website France5. Date of treatment February 5, 2013. Archived February 14, 2013.
• Top view of the Garden of the King (Fr.) . Google Maps Date of treatment February 5, 2013. Archived February 14, 2013.