Tom Stuart-Smith

Homage to Le Nôtre

For Laurent-Perrier and the Garden History Society

We designed this garden to mark the three hundredth anniversary of the death of Le Nôtre, gardener to the Sun King. Its principal sponsor was Laurent-Perrier - the first in a series of five gardens we have made for this remarkable client.

The garden was divided into two parts. At the front, an open parterre formed a miniature version of a spiral labyrinth based on an original design by a pupil of Le Nôtre, which was created in a number of gardens in France and England. The back of the garden comprised a long canal, flanked by four parterres planted with grass and studded with wild and exotic flowers and bulbs. This planting was based on the ‘Enamelled Meads’ of early eighteenth century English gardens. These anticipate the modern meadow garden, albeit within a highly formal context. The garden was built by Crocus.

Press coverage of Homage to Le Nôtre:

Versailles, SW3 by Caroline Clifton-Mogg Harpers & Queen (2000) pdf 580Kb