| France is famous for its romantic cast stone | | | | residence to provide an arranged view. The cast |
| fountains, but it's also rich in gardens that reflect | | | | stone fountain usually was set in the center as |
| its cultural taste, as those tastes have been from | | | | the focal point of where it all came together. |
| the Middle Ages to the present. What better way | | | | Trees were grouped in neat plantations or in bold |
| to breathe in the essence of the French than to | | | | lines along avenues, with terraces and statuary |
| wander outdoors in designed spaces where you | | | | carefully placed to emphasize the architectural |
| can smell and touch the living displays, sit by a | | | | symmetry of the grand manner. The widespread |
| refreshing cast stone fountain and move freely | | | | adoption of this style among the European nobility |
| and absorb at your own pace? | | | | and gentry reflected the potency of French |
| French gardens, particularly the French formal | | | | cultural influence at the time. It was also related, |
| garden can engage all five senses. In the 16th | | | | on a practical basis, to the limited availability of |
| Century, French courtiers built their chateau | | | | planting materials, especially those offering autumn |
| gardens along the Loire Valley fertile riverbanks. | | | | and winter display. |
| The homes were essentially small turreted castles | | | | The change to a more natural style of gardening |
| that reeked of charm. Many of these same | | | | came about when, in the latter part of the 18th |
| chateaux and their formal French gardens with | | | | century, the opinion arose among leading |
| cast stone fountains are open to the public today | | | | gardeners, particularly those of the English gentry, |
| so that the owners may qualify for government | | | | that the French formal garden manner brought |
| tax breaks and grants. | | | | with it a certain monotony. The increasing |
| The French Gardens and Cast Stone Fountains | | | | importation of foreign plants also brought with it |
| Were an Inspiration for Other Countries | | | | opportunities for a large-scale transformation. |
| Italian artists who traveled through Europe were | | | | The Allee in a French Formal Garden |
| inspired by French gardens and their cast stone | | | | The allee (accent is placed over the second e) |
| fountains where architecture took pride of place | | | | feature of the French formal garden was both a |
| over nature. Very strict geometric perspectives | | | | promenade and an extension of the view. It |
| were used to show buildings to their best | | | | either ended in a terminal feature, such as a |
| advantage. The French formal gardens at | | | | garden temple, a cast stone fountain or extended |
| Versailles, designed by Andre Le Notre, were | | | | into apparent infinity at the horizon. |
| inspired by the sun-symbol chosen by King Louis | | | | The allee normally passed through a planted |
| XIV, the main axes corresponding to the points | | | | boscage (a small wood); in the 17th century the |
| of the compass. Flowerbeds edged with trimmed | | | | boscage was square-trimmed at the sides and on |
| box hedges were planted. Garden specialist | | | | top; later the sides were trained so high that the |
| Gabrielle van Zuylen sees the influence of | | | | free-branching trees within the wood were |
| Versailles at Blenheim Palace in England, in St. | | | | invisible. As architectural gardening became |
| Petersburg (Russia), at La Granja near Segovia | | | | unfashionable in the 18th century, the trimming of |
| (Spain) and in Caserta near Naples (Italy). Le | | | | trees ceased, and the straight allee gave way to |
| Notre's radiating garden paths even served as | | | | the meandering walk past the cast stone fountain. |
| inspiration for the town plan of Washington D. C. | | | | Towards the end of the 18th century, the French |
| The cast stone fountains appeared in many of | | | | formal garden came to be seen as too artificial |
| these palaces and estates. | | | | and gave way to the English landscaped park |
| French Formal Gardens Represent Extreme | | | | style. Lovers of poetry and painting forsook |
| Formality | | | | straight lines in favor of "natural" landscapes |
| The most favored style for great house gardens | | | | composed of hills, woods, ponds and waterfalls |
| in Europe during much of this period derived from | | | | but still, the cast stone fountain remained. The |
| the influence of the French designer Andre' Le | | | | Romantics liked their paintings to include ruins and |
| Notre, creator of the gardens at Versailles. The | | | | mausoleums. The garden became a theatre set, |
| French style represented an extreme of | | | | expressing the aspirations of 18th-century man in |
| formality, with box-edged parterres (elaborate | | | | search of knowledge. |
| and geometrical beds) typically placed near the | | | | |