5. France

‘France’ explains how in early French estates the house and garden were usually designed independently. Distinctive features of 16th-century French gardens were the presence of a canal and plantings arranged in the flat ornamental flower gardens known as parterres. The apogee of French garden art is the 17th-century formal garden known as the jardin à la française, characterized by geometry. The greatest and most influential exponent was André Le Nôtre, who was responsible for the gardens at Versailles. The principal innovations of the 18th century were the jardin anglo-chinois, the ferme ornée, the fabrique, and the jardin anglais. French garden design in the 19th and 20th centuries is also discussed.