Adjoining the park of the Château de Versailles, the Potager du Roi lies in the shadow of the palace, hidden away by walls on all sides. To reach this nine-hectare gem, which has endured come rain or shine since the late 17th century, you must weave your way through a maze of paths running parallel to the palace, leading you into the orchard and vegetable area. Simply passing through the gate is not enough: to fully appreciate the chequerboard layout, we must climb the ramp up to the terrace, which looks out over the multitude of squares, each of which is protected by a walled border.
In April, in every nook and cranny of this marvellous patchwork of greenery, we find pear, apple and peach trees all drooping under the weight of their lush blossom. Espaliered fruit trees line the garden’s sheltered outer border, while the central square, anchored by a pond and divided into 16 smaller squares, houses the vegetables and herbs, planted in neat lines. From the middle of the terrace, you get to take in all this magnificence. Here you will also see a full-sized sculpture of Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie (1626–1688), Louis XIV’s horticultural director and the man who designed this quite unforgettable sight.
He stands with a billhook in one hand and a cutting in the other; an exceptional gardener, he invented the former and, apropos the sprig, pioneered methods of pruning. He was also a keeneyed agronomist who shared his knowledge and unparalleled skill in Instruction for Fruit and Vegetable Gardens (published posthumously in 1690), an influential manual that continues to shape how the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage, the most important school of landscape architecture, manages the Potager du Roi to this day. That relationship neatly echoes the partnership between the industrious La Quintinie and André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV’s celebrated principal gardener, at the very dawn of the project. La Quintinie had started out as a lawyer. After travelling to Italy as the tutor of the son of Jean Tambonneau, president of the general accounting office, he returned with a huge enthusiasm for that nation’s gardens.
At 25 years old, he began researching the subject, swotting up on Classical texts and dedicating his time to horticulture. Passion would eventually evolve into professional life. Putting his newly acquired knowledge into practice at the Tambonneaus’ hôtel, the gardener began to get noticed, and acclaim soon followed. Thanks to his patron’s many connections, he found himself employed at Chantilly for the Prince of Condé, in Choisy-le-Roi at the house of Mademoiselle de Montpensier or in Sceaux for the Colbert estate.
Prior to all this, he had also ventured over to England to research his favourite subject at the court of James II, who tried, in vain, to enlist his services. In 1678, having already worked at Versailles for several years, he was charged with creating a new vegetable garden that would supply the royal kitchens and court with fresh produce. This project would take him five years. It was no mean feat as the plot in question was little more than a swamp.
Faced with such unpromising conditions, La Quintinie told his master: ‘But, your Highness, no-one would want that.’ Le Nôtre’s solution was to drain the land, diverting water to the Lake of the Swiss Guard, which was being installed in the palace grounds, and backfilling the site with dredged material from there and with earth brought in from outside; the reclaimed land was regularly fertilised with manure from the royal stables. It was a laborious undertaking that still bears fruit, literally and metaphorically: three centuries on, it makes for an astonishing sight that is at once beautiful and useful. And the potager yielded plentiful produce, even out of season. For example, strawberry plants were cultivated to crop as early as March in order to satisfy the king’s culinary cravings. But bounty alone wasn’t enough for La Quintinie. Everything had to be staged in this, his horticultural theatre. Look at the 3,500 fruit trees here – mainly pear and apple, along with some apricot, peach and plum – and you will see that they are, for the most part, espaliered.
The method of positioning the plants flat against a wall and training branches to grow in a particular direction allows for a bigger yield from a smaller surface area. Boughs can also be spaced horizontally or vertically, providing an even distribution of sunlight, thereby increasing fruit production. This is known as a palmette: a trellised tree attached to a solid structure. The most common configurations are a vertical or double-U shape (the palmette verrier), horizontal on several levels, or just one level known as a cordon.
In the absence of a wall, ties can be used to secure the plant, in what is known as a counter-espalier, here found in the form of horizontal palmettes lining the vegetable patches of the central square. This symmetry respects the natural appearance of fruit trees, as only the inner branches are pruned to let air and light enter, promoting fruit growth in the centre and not just on the crown. Such ‘goblet pruning’ aerates the tree and prevents disease, while spectacular fan and spiral formations require more regular upkeep.
Nothing escaped La Quintinie’s attention. He was also interested in sap circulation and learned to distinguish which buds grew into branches, which grew into flowers and which would bear fruit, an insight that guided his pruning techniques. But this particular garden of Eden is not stuck in its ways. Far from it. Its creator saw it as a place of experimentation – a vision shared by the current director, Antoine Jacobsohn.
Just like his predecessor, Jacobsohn strives to preserve the excellence of this outstanding piece of heritage and also aspires to consolidate past and present to better prepare for the future, treating the Potager du Roi at Versailles as a laboratory of innovation. ‘The new seed that we produce to grow new plants,’ he says, ‘is a condensed testimony of the past.’
The Potager du Roi, 10 Rue du Maréchal Joffre, 78000 Versailles, can be visited all year round. For opening times, ring 00 33 3 30 12 34 56, or visit ecole-paysage.fr
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