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How to read a garden by Le Nôtre
Follow one view, then leave it. The long axis and enclosed groves reveal different parts of the garden’s design.
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The view changes as you move
The terrace brings several water features into one composition. Walking down towards Latona separates them. Her fountain rises in front of the Royal Way, Apollo’s basin stands at the far end of the lawn, and the Grand Canal stretches beyond the garden gates. Le Nôtre widened an earlier avenue and shaped the land around it. Earth had to be shifted, pools excavated and planting brought to the site. The apparently easy line across the garden was the product of prolonged work. Use the paths beside the grass to compare the distant view with the actual spaces between its parts. Louis XIV commissioned this landscape as part of his residence. Walks with the king and entertainments brought guests into the gardens. The long views and fountains became part of the way visitors encountered his court.
A room behind the trees
Groves enclose smaller gardens within the wooded blocks. The Ballroom shaped a slope into a place for dancing and spectators. Enceladus put a struggling giant at the centre of a fountain. The paths towards these spaces interrupt the clear view and make the visitor discover a new arrangement. Their dates differ. Apollo’s Baths has a rocky landscape designed under Louis XVI around sculptures made earlier for Louis XIV. The Water Theatre’s present garden opened in 2015. A grove can preserve a name while its design changes. Seasonal opening determines which enclosed spaces can be entered.
Keeping a shape alive
Trees and clipped planting grow, age and require replacement. The gardens were replanted during later reigns and after major storms, especially the storm of December 1999. Gardeners still maintain the geometric shapes by pruning and planting. The fountains also depend on a water supply and regular maintenance. A fountain has sculpture, a basin and a schedule of water effects. Musical Gardens and Musical Fountains are different programmes, and entry conditions vary by day. The central-axis walk follows the main landscape. The grove visit is for days when those garden enclosures are open.
Photo gallery 1
Image credits
- Azurfrog · Grand Trianon Salon des malachites.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- G.Garitan · Grand Cabinet madame victoire 1505549.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Pedemann · Grand Trianon Billard.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Jen Wen Luoh · Petit Trianon - Antichambre 01.jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia · Le grand escalier - Petit Trianon (24276910376).jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons · Cabinet dore Marie-Antoinette Versailles.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Hyperios · Bosquet du théâtre d eau Les Belles Danses.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Léa Le Floc'h · Chateau de Versailles et son reflet.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Coyau / Wikimedia Commons · Hameau de la Reine, maison de la Reine depuis les Cascatelles 01.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF