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 From the warm and gentle hills of the inland farms and vineyards to craggy mountain outposts and coastal hideaways, the geology of the French countryside is as varied and diverse as its population.
The French are formal; relaxed is not a French frame of mind. Life is taken quite seriously, and likewise, a true French garden will reflect this keen sense of intentness. Although gardens may be colorful and ebullient (Monet’s Giverney for instance), the overall technique is one of mastered control and gentle authority. This strategy is basically a form of “natural manipulation,” one where the larger view of formality is properly balanced with subtle side areas of informality, tucked away, here and there, so that exuberance doesn’t overwhelm control.
Gardening Begins in the Mind: Design Elements in a French Garden
French gardens are first creations of the mind, the intellect. You won’t find an uncontrolled abandon of emotion in any French garden. The layout is typically geometrical and organized. One of the most famous gardens in the entire world, that of King Louis the XIV at his Versailles palace, is an outstanding example of this theory of design. Originally, the palace and surrounding grounds were constructed as a hunting lodge for members of the royal family; a classic country escape, yet easily accessible within the confines and cultural pampering of Paris. While still a boy, King Louis the XIV began to modify the design (with some help from the world famous French architect Louis LeVau). The new central theme of the Versailles garden would be henceforth anchored by grandiose horse stables and huge orchards.
Still used as a repeating standard for foundational French garden design, classic geometric shapes (reminiscent of those found in ancient Roman design) form the architectural backbone of the garden. This mass of space is then divided into beds – each bed set off with low, clipped, manicured hedges (such as privet, yew or even low-growing roses) or even low-growing annuals. Not only does this “garden within a garden” increase the use of restricted land mass, but it also makes small gardens appear much larger (another French gardening trait). Simply put, French principles of garden design are to skillfully combine the greatest variety of plants within a strictly formal, geometric framework. Hence, house and garden are united by a common theme and all surrounding areas are seen as one vast garden tastefully broken into bit-size bits, labors of love, perfect and precise.
Design Particulars
Control
Within this grand scheme, it’s not uncommon for each bed to have its own flavorful and tailored design, ranging from purely square to serpentine. Each bed can be filled with different flowers, herbs or vegetables. The designs within each bed are usually complex and when in season, bright and colorful. Even Monet’s famous garden in Giverney, which on the surface is opulent with an almost fantastical explosion of raw color, is backed by form: rectangular hedge beds, bridges, wire balustrades, wrought iron structures and topiaries add control and set boundaries.
Topiary
Topiary is the art of training and trimming shrubs into ornamental shapes. Animals, people, insects and birds, even tables and chairs have been made in topiary. Usually, yew or box hedges are most commonly used in their creation; however, topiaries can be designed from most any small-leaved, hardy, close-growing shrub.
Espalier
A fancy French word for training and trimming trees and shrubs to make them as beautiful and productive as possible. Practiced particularly on fruit trees, espalier can be done on any free standing tree or shrub. The shape will be “unnatural,” rather like a free-form fence structure. Espalier trains the skeleton or intricate structure of the tree, while topiary trims the outlying portions only, leaving the spine of the specimen intact. While topiary is used to create a life-like or fun shape, espalier is to keep the shape, but make it more “itself” – to make fruit trees more productive, more abundant, more “themselves,” and in fact, more fruity!
French Bed Intensive Gardening
Originally developed for use in narrow residential yard areas of Paris and other populated areas, “French Intensive,” or "double dug" raised bed gardening yields the most produce for the least land area. Once installed, these raised beds require little upkeep and no power tools are ever needed! The basic premise in intensive bed gardening is to basically double the amount of land available for planting. This is done by creating raised beds to which rich and moist humus (compost) is added. Planting French beds is a unique experience (particularly for Americans). Instead of planting a single long row as in seen in most US gardens, the French style is to make the rows larger (up to 5’ wide) and to run them across the length of the entire planting area, typically 12’ long. There is no walkway. You interplant closer, leaving no unused areas. Most French people stand aghast when you tell them how much space a typical American gardener will use between planting seeds. For the French, it’s about control and production; double up the planting, double up the harvest. Some of the benefits of intensive bed gardening are:
- Less weeding
- Easier pest control
- No tilling in the spring
- Easier crop rotation
- Easier watering
- Easier harvest
 From the Indoors Out
One thing you will see in a French garden are some of the comforts from inside brought to the rooms outside the house, the interplay between the indoors and out. Items such as doormats and clocks (French bronze finish, of course), a worn mirror, a faded chair or bench, an old wooden table, used baskets, hats, umbrellas, fishing poles, pots and even scarves, all add to the magic, to the proud individualism that can be found in French gardening.
Research taken from the following sources:
Valery-Françoise, Marie. “ French Garden Style.” Frances Lincoln, Ltd. London. 2000.
Hobhouse, Penelope. Taylor, Patrick. “Garden Lover’s Guide to France.” Princeton Architectural Press. New York. 1998.
Copyright 2006 www.OutdoorDecor.com
Kay Stone, OutdoorDecor.com Staff Writer
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