You can't have a blog about gardens without a post about Versailles!

Versailles Palace and Gardens were built under King Louis XIV and they are both incredible reflections of wealth power control and excess. The gardens exemplify Louis' quest for control and dominance. These formal gardens are rich with symbolism and layers of meaning so I will pick just a few and talk about how they relate to King Louis the XIV and the culture that surrounded his reign.

The Orangery

http://holidayandtraveleurope.blogspot.dk/2013/02/france-versailles-gardens.html

Louis the XIV had a ridiculous amount of orange trees. They were hard to grow in France so maintaining them throughout the seasons was very difficult. They had to be moved indoors in the winter which was labor intensive and required space for all of his orange trees. By having these exotic fruits in copious amounts he was able to demonstrate the expanse of his power. In a way by having oranges in grow in France Louis the XIV was demonstrating that he had power over nature.





The Size of the Palace


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uw9CQVXKCnk/TJMekpgbpUI/AAAAAAAAA_k/1VScgqxUBbM/s1600/Versailles+3.jpg

Of course the size of Versailles is definitely overwhelming and arguably sickening but Louis the XIV had a practical use for the space. Louis the XIV had a bad case of paranoia and had the mind set to "keep his friends close but his enemies closer." He kept all of the nobles at Versailles. Here the nobles fought amongst themselves and frolicked in the gardens which kept them from thinking about overthrowing Louis the XIV.

The Fountains and the "Water Boys"

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1156947200/tt0120484?ref_=tt_ov_i

There are 50 fountains at Versailles, 620 water gets and 35 kilometers of piping to feed the fountains. The amount of water these fountains needed was just another example of power and excess. Unlike the Italian Renaissance Gardens the fountains at Versailles weren't fed by gravitation and runoff from the mountains making it even more difficult to power all of the fountains. In order to alleviate some of the problems involved with moving so much water Jean-Baptiste Colbert devised a system with whistles to signal the King's location so that the fountains could be turned on and off as he approached and then passed fountains. I kind of image these people as ball boys running around after the king and then I thought of water boy and Adam Sandler and got distracted watching clips of water boy on youtube. But anyways...

Geometry

Everyone loves Math! Wait, no, that can't be right. I think math (especially geometry) is pretty intimidating and overwhelming especially when you start having to think in three dimensions. These gardens were a really cool 3-D manifestation of advances in math, science, perspective and reflected the mindset of the time with a focus on order and control. There were of course some variations and not everything was squares and straight lines. Within the sections that hung off the main axes of the gardens were ornate and swirly twirly parterres. Below is a picture is a picture of a parterre and the larger section that it is contained in.