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Home , Bernard de Jussieu, De Jussieu, Greenhouse, Jardin des Plantes, Louis XV, Orangery

trees Admirable

estate of versailles With Patronage of maison rémy martin The history of from tree to tree

Established in 1724 and granted Royal Approval in 1738 by Louis XV, Trees have so many stories to tell, hidden away in their shadows. At Maison Rémy Martin shares with the of Versailles an absolute Versailles, these stories combine into a veritable epic, considering respect of time, a spirit of openness and innovation, a willingness to that some of its trees have, from the tips of their leafy , seen pass on its exceptional knowledge and respect for the environment the kings of France come and go, observed the Revolution, lived – all of which are values that connect it to the Admirable Trees of through two World Wars and witnessed the nation’s greatest dramas Versailles. and most joyous celebrations. Strolling from tree to tree is like walking through part of the , encompassing the influence of Louis XIV, the experi- ments of Louis XV, the passion for hunting of Louis XVI, as well as the great maritime expeditions and the antics of Marie-Antoinette. It also calls to mind the unending renewal of these fragile giants, which can be toppled by a strong gust and need many years to grow back again.

Pedunculate oak, Trianon forecourts; planted during the reign of Louis XIV, in 1668, this oak is the doyen of the trees on the Estate of Versailles

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From the French-style in front of the Palace to the English at Trianon, the Estate of Versailles is dotted with extraordi- nary trees. Originally featuring mainly limes and chestnut trees from the local area, the arboreal heritage of Versailles has been enriched by rare species from faraway lands, such as cedars of Lebanon, Virginia and juniper trees, Japanese pagoda trees… Although some historical trees did not survive the storm of 1999, several of the most remarkable specimens did manage to escape and can still be admired today.

1. Giant sequoia, Jussieu’s , Estate of Trianon 2. Virginia juniper, English garden, 1 Estate of Trianon 2 3 From 1661, Louis XIV The three distinct sections bringS trees at the park to Versailles from of Versailles The Park of Versailles is a all over France typical example of a formal garden, laid out along strict lines on either side of He loved them and wanted to have lots of them in the a central axis and designed gardens, which he commissioned André Le Nôtre as an extension of the (1613-1700) to design from 1661. But the marshy . It comprises three ground was not that suitable. Consequently, a number of distinct sections: the open full-size adult trees were dug up from the forests of spaces, featuring and replanted at Versailles. of boxwood and flowers, designed to be contemplated 2 The enormous means of transport arranged to move from the of them were really quite striking. Claude Desgots recalled the Palace; the groves – thousand thorny , ornamental elms, maples and how the King “stripped the countryside for 20 miles architectural bridges between others in racks, and five hundred bunches of boxwood”. around of chestnut trees and limes”. The Duke of Saint- the parterres and the tall The Palace coped with all this intense activ­ity Simon also wrote of these “ready-made forests in trees surrounding them. Like bunches”, containing “great trees from Compiègne, and and came up with increasingly ingenious solutions, for open-air hidden example in transporting the trees by designing special much further afield, arriving non-stop and more than 21 within wooded areas, they three-quarters of which would die and have to be instantly vehicles, and in terms of the size of the plants, by making are designed for fun; double-height ladders. replaced”. The shipments of trees came from Artois, the forest, crossed by wide, Flanders and Dauphiné. The Prince of Nassau’s straight walkways designed As for Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie (1624-1688), he was brought on board, as he knew how to “transplant for fox-hunting. turned the Versailles garden into a veritable the biggest trees without any harm befalling them”. open-air laboratory from 1678. He was the first to high- 1. Isometric view of the light the role of sap in the cropping and fruiting of Nurseries were set up, which helped boost homegrown Palace, lower gardens and tree production over time. An early site was established the town of Saint-Cloud trees, and drew attention to their root system and the (detail), circa 1675, precautions to be taken when them. at Saint-Antoine , where, from 1693, vast areas of by Étienne Allegrain land were set aside to supply all of the royal estates (1644-1736); oil on canvas with trees and shrubs. Officials in throughout 2. Engraving taken from Instructions for fruit France sent seeds and young plants. In the , and vegetable gardens, more than 60 ha of the Estate were given over to their with a treatise on cultivation. According to a contract in 1755, these trees, followed by some reflections on , Versailles nurseries were able to supply, annually, “thirty by Mr de La Quintinie, thousand trees of all species and sizes, ten thousand director of the King’s fruit and vegetable gardens fruit trees, three hundred thousand hornbeams, one (detail), Volume I, Part 3, hundred thousand oaks or chestnut trees, five hundred Claude Barbin, ed., 1690 4 5 Louis XV’s passion EPIC VOYAGE the magnolia, it was widely used in English-style gardens, which had become the fashion. Sometimes to the annoyance for of the captain, whose Orders placed between 1753 and 1772 a little and rare species voyage, he felt, was constantly more light on the trees that made up the Palace being interrupted by gardens at the time. The groves in particular contained stopovers and his vessel limes, sycamores, “white-woods”, ash and chestnut laden down with crates, trees. The interior palisades were planted with yew, pots and wicker baskets, the chestnut trees and boxwood. Those around them From 1750, he tasked gardener-florist Claude Richard cuttings were treated with contained hornbeams and elms, in addition to limes (1705-1784) with developing an experimental garden the greatest of reverence. So and sycamores. The Royal Way was bordered with elms close to . were erected for that they could get the and the Grand Canal with “white-woods”, while spruces cultivating hitherto obscure species, such as coffee light they needed to survive, could be found in certain specific areas of the gardens, beans, cherries and peaches. Initially a fruit and vegeta- where possible they were such as by the railings of the Latona . Finally, ble garden, it took on a more botanical character with the installed on the upper , the parterres were decorated with clipped yew and arrival, in 1759, of Bernard (1699-1777), and protected from spray, gusts dwarf boxwood. of wind and birds. Naturally, then became the main experimental ground of the time. The woods in the Park, meanwhile, were composed mainly they had to be watered of oaks and chestnut trees. At the time of Louis XIV’s The mid-18th century was a period of major scientific regularly. And then there death, they were known to cover 4,963 acres (2,534 ha) expeditions overseas. Hadn’t the Lumières (Enlighteners) were the whims of the of the Estate’s entire area, but note had already been demanded to know more about far-off lands? With the naturalist, the great scholar 21 taken of their parlous condition, due to advanced age, King’s support, naturalists joined forces with astrono- who was so full of himself. the big freeze of 1709 and general wear and tear. The mers, physicians and artists, and set sail on vessels Despite the patience of the situation really started to become worrying in the . chartered from the navy. Most notably, Antoine Richard sailors, only 5% of the (1735-1807), Claude’s son and a student of Jussieu, was plants survived the voyage. dispatched by Louis XV on a mission to the Balearic Islands, and Portugal. Seeds and dried plants, On arrival in port, the ones in the form of herbariums and cuttings, were loaded that did make it were on to the boats extremely carefully. Discussions with not planted into the ground foreign botanists, such as the Swede Carl von Linné straight away. They (1707-1778), and interested seafarers, such as Admiral wouldn’t have been able de la Galissonnière contributed to the expansion of the to cope with the new Trianon collection. By the time of the King’s death, it environment, so they were comprised 4,000 different varieties of , making it cultivated. At Trianon, the most famous collection in Europe. they were placed in warm greenhouses, which, in Here, the utilitarian as well as decorative attributes of 1762, accommodated fig, these new plants were discovered. The white birch coffee and plants… proved to be effective in the treatment of skin disorders, 1. (1699-1777), French while the prevalent white pine helped meet the urgent botanist, by Ambroise Tardieu demand for wood in the ship- industry. As for (1788-1841); engraving 6 7 In 1774, Louis XVI together with , the case in the landscaped gardens, exotic species who arranged it around a were carefully installed. pond, on the edges of which, replants the entire The Royal Estates accounts for 1776 recorded that from 1783, the cottages of the 280,000 oaks were planted. Park at Versailles Queen’s Hamlet were built. The King’s passion for hunting lay behind his desire to This time, the trees that had significantly rearrange the Estate. The hunting grounds been planted found favour were extended through the acquisition of a further with the Duke of Croÿ, who 4,400 acres – more than half of them wooded – added singled out the alpine feel, Marie-Antoinette to which were the forests claimed from the Park by which chimed with the pastoral had an English installing new fencing. Thus, in 1778, the wooded por- style in fashion at the time: park designed tion of the Estate covered 9,545 acres (4,874 ha). for “What is superb is that Richard has indulged Having been gifted the Petit his taste and his skill and Trianon by her husband upon has introduced magnificent her ascent to the throne, and rare trees of all types […] the young queen threw herself There are especially pines, enthusiastically into larch, then, moving upwards, reorganising Louis XV’s estate. large firs, then small-leaved She got rid of the botanic stunted firs, then what garden – whose countless are known in the country treasures were relocated to as alders.” , to the present-day – and tore down its extraordinary 21 installations.

Large-scale felling was required to tackle the state of The Duke of Croÿ looked on, decay of the trees. It was given the go-ahead by the bitterly: “I thought I was going mad, or dreaming, when 1. Entrance of the green new King from the end of 1774. Two paintings by the at Versailles (détail), artist Hubert Robert depicted the upheaval the gardens I found, in place of the most 1777, by Hubert Robert productive and valuable (1733-1808); oil on canvas; endured, although it was all to preserve Le Nôtre’s work the painting depicts rather than give in to the prevailing Anglomania. in Europe, rather the “green carpet” during high mountains, a large the felling of trees (winter Nevertheless, certain things were updated in line with rock and a river.” In fact, an 1774-1775) in the ; in the the fashion of the time. This work was carried out in the Anglo-Oriental garden had foreground are Louis XVI groves with the help of Abbot Nolin, agronomist and been designed by the Count of and Marie-Antoinette “decorator of the King’s gardens”. In particular, the Caraman and created 2. View of the ’s Baths grove (detail), Labyrinth grove was destroyed to make way for the by Antoine Richard and the 1777, by Hubert Robert Venus grove – now the Queen’s grove – where, as was architect , (1733-1808); oil on canvas 2 8 9 After the revolution, Louis XVIII sorts out the park goes the King’s garden to rack and ruin

In the Park at Versailles, “the axe is poised at the In 1818, this landscaped garden replaced the Royal Isle foot of the trees lining its great avenues,” stated the fountain and gathered together a remarkable collection administrator Charles Delacroix, who, in 1793, was of exotic species. Steam navigation meant more new threatening to “churn up” the Park and “break the spell plants, particularly flowers, could be imported from all that seems to be retaining all the embellishments from over the world, and this contributed to the serene the time of the tyrants”. atmosphere sought by the Romantic movement. The harmony between quantities and colours of the different The woods of the Park were chopped down for the plants was particularly well thought out in this garden. ship-building industry, the fruit trees were planted in incongruous spots like along the edge of the Grand Canal and the Apollo fountain, but it was still possible 2 to visit the groves, to which the guards had the keys. From maturity Antoine Richard was able to remain in post and take care of the exotic trees, which he himself had planted to replanting at Petit Trianon. In 1802, I ordered that the end of the Grand Largely untouched for much of the 19th century, the Park 21 Canal be planted with poplars from Italy, which actually saw its trees reach maturity. For the purpose of rege­ originated in Asia and were highly prized in the 19th neration, a new planting was undertaken between 1863 century. To make way for them, the gardener Lelieur did and 1880 under the direction of architect Charles- not hesitate to sacrifice the young elms that had been Auguste Questel, which was followed by the restoration planted there some years earlier by Trianon gardener, of the gardens by , starting in 1887. Jean Duchesne.

1. The open space in front of the Grand Trianon (detail), 1810, by Jean Bidauld (1758-1846) and Antoine Vernet (1758-1836); oil on canvas 2. King’s Garden, grove on the southern edge of the gardens at the 10 11 The storms of 1990 The proceeds of an auction of the most beautiful of the uprooted historical trees went towards replacing these and 1999 decimate with the same species. One of the buyers, the artist Giuseppe Penone, would return 13 years later with one the woodland of the great cedars to exhibit it at the Palace. Hollow, it served as a container for a healthy young tree. “Some day, this tree will be big enough to touch the bronze bark.”

2 The restoration of the Park

Ironically, the 1990 storm, and especially the one in 1999, focused attention on the fragility of the 130-year- old trees. It was high time they were replaced. Even better, the storms provided the opportunity to recreate parts of the garden in their 18th century state, particularly the English garden at the Petit Trianon, the whole of the Grand Trianon park and the groves. Today, the botanical heritage of the Estate of Versailles is in good health and its trees, replanted 20 years ago, are evidence of that.

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During the night of 25 to 26 December 1999, more

than 18,000 plants were destroyed by a storm that 1. The botanical heritage of battered the north of France. Historical trees were lost the Estate of Versailles was forever, such as the Virginia tulip tree planted during destroyed by the storm of 25 and 26 December 1999 Marie-Antoinette’s time and the Corsican pine that was 2. Between bark and bark the final witness to Napoleon I’s stay at Petit Trianon. (Tra scorza e scorza), Giuseppe Penone; work But unexpected resources came to the trees’ aid, whose displayed on the Water destruction prompted a wave of solidarity on an inter- parterre during the modern- exhibition national scale. Between 2000 and 2003, funds of more Giuseppe Penone at than €2.5 million were raised and 10,000 trees were Versailles, held from June replanted. Around the world, 5,000 private individuals, to October 2013 3. The botanical heritage as well as various large companies, answered the call of the Estate of Versailles to restore the Park to its former glory. in June 2019 23 12 13 Estate of Trianon Virgina tulip tree Ginkgo biloba Giant sequoia Weeping Japanese pagoda tree Corsican pine Common catalpa Fastigiate English oak Small-leaved Pedunculate oak Common yew Weeping beech Trees Common catalpa Virginia juniper Japanese pagoda tree Bald cypress worth Common catalpa Cedar of Lebanon “Elephant’s foot” plane tree remarking on PArK “In the tree kingdom, roles are evenly assigned. You can tell who is the monarch and who are Cut-leaf chestnut tree the great lords and barons, the Court and the myriad minor powdered and delicate marquis filling the corridors,” begins Robert Bourdu, in his essay on the yew,* which, according Purple copper beeches to the author, serves as Cut-leaf beech Maple-leaf plane tree “the indispensable confessor, discreet wielder of power”.

GardenS and groves The oak, again according to the author, holds pride of place. Bald cypress The beech and lime form part of its personal guard and the conifers are its orderly troops, while the cedars, sequoias and old plane trees “ambassadors from faraway Corsican pine lands, exotic and mysterious”. OrANGErY * Robert Bourdu, L’If (The Yew), ed. Actes Sud, 1997 “Double-headed” palm Eugenia Pomegranate N Pomegranate With patronage of Maison rémy Martin

14 15 Bitter orange in summer, the bitter oranges The catalpa has very large leaves Cedar of Lebanon the cycle of civilisations and Today, it stands 36 metres x aurantium perfumed the air all around. and clusters of flowers, which, Cedrus libani the precariousness of greatness. tall – a remarkable height for With their smooth trunks, which at the end of the summer, turn “They are divine beings in the this species – and the darken with age and thus into elongated bean-like pods form of trees,” wrote Lamartine circumference of its trunk contrast beautifully with their full of seeds. That’s probably of the cedars, during his tour measures 5.24 metres. It is foliage, they were dotted among what the word “catalpa” meant to in 1833. To the people of called a “pedunculate” oak the swirls of the . the Native American Indians in the Middle East, the trees were because its acorns are on the Carolina, in the southern United sages and prophets. end of long peduncles, or This citrus plant, which is native States, from where the tree lobes, of between 2 and 10 cm. to South-East Asia, likes warm originates. In fact, it is one of the climates but is nevertheless Dedicated to Zeus by the Greeks rare species to have kept its Pedunculate Oak resistant to cold. It has an and to by the Romans, original name on being brought quercus robur extraordinary life expectancy, the oak, with its strong and to in 1726 and then even when boxed. The Orangery unyielding wood, symbolises to France in 1754. at Versailles was once power and majesty. Its serrated to the “Constable”, which, it is Modestly sized, it struggles to leaves, like those of holly and said, was more than 470 years reach 15 metres in height: the laurel, are used as a decorative The bitter orange is acknowledged old when it died. two examples that face each Legend has it that Bernard de motif. From the 18th century, as the official ancestor of the other in the English garden at Jussieu (1699-1777) himself it became a symbol of merit and orange. Louis XIV adored this fruit Trianon are 10 and 12 metres, planted this cedar of Lebanon in then victory. It appears on COMMoN Catalpa with its colour of the sunset – his respectively, while the one 1772. However, an in-depth military objects – on generals’ Catalpa bignonioides emblem. So he had his architect, in the Queen’s Theatre soars dated this 30-metre tree caps and the Legion of Honour Jules Hardouin-Mansart, build a to 20 metres. Its majestic to 1840. medal – and can be seen in magnificent new orangery in 1684. frame, often quite broad, and various places around the its trimmings – large, verdant Nevertheless, it was the famous Palace where brave warrior At the Palace, where many different leaves, delicate and frilly white botanist from the Jardin des deeds are celebrated. aromas mingled, several boxed flowers edged in purple and Plantes in Paris who introduced bitter orange trees gave off their gold – make this a highly prized the species to France, in the With its magnificent structure perfume. A slightly bitter essence ornamental tree, to the extent early 18th century. To get it, he and more than 350 years of age, could be extracted from its went to England, which prided the oak is the doyen of the Fastigiate English that, in parks, it is recommended oak delicate flowers and members of that it be planted in isolation itself on having had many of trees at Versailles. According to the Court would cloud themselves these Mount Lebanon natives dendrochronological studies, quercus robur so that its effect can be fully ’fastigiata’ in this “”, named after the appreciated. since 1638. In 1734, Bernard it was grown from seed planted princess of Nerola, who made it Jussieu brought back two cedar in 1670 and so would have been fashionable in the 18th century. It is designated a “bignonioide” saplings from , which party to discussions between because of an odd semantic had been kindly donated by the Louis XIV and André Le Nôtre From the late 15th century, King detour in reference to the director of . Did about the construction of the Charles VIII, returning from his trumpet-shaped bignonia flower. he drop them? Did the water run Park. Did the most powerful king campaign in Italy, encouraged the The von Linné classification, out of the pots? No – as he in Europe lean against the development of “stores” with to which many plants owe their later recounted, he arrived with young tree, perhaps, imagining as many south-facing windows as names today, is to do with his precious cargo lodged safely his great future? possible. The first of these was, how they pollinate and the in his hat. of course, the one at his residence, characteristics of their flowers. Strangely, there is no mention d’Amboise, but it wasn’t In the 19th century, the Cedar of it in the Palace archives, which a patch on what was later installed forest was an unmissable may have saved it for a long at Versailles, the scale of which stopover on voyages to the Orient. time from being inappropriately was unprecedented. Relocated For the Romantics, it was a pruned, which would have from the Orangery to the parterre special place for meditating on thwarted its development. 16 17 A fastigiate English oak is so In reality, this is a member not Eugenia Virginia juniper thickness develop, is still in Japan in the , then called because it grows in the of the cypress family but of the Syzygium paniculatum Juniperus virginiana connected to the roots and introduced to England in 1754. shape of a flame or torch. This is Taxodiaceae, like the sequoia. leaves, meaning photosynthesis, The naturalist Banks gave it not its natural growth pattern It’s a conifer, yet it loses its which is crucial to its survival, at the Jardin des Plantes in and has to be cultivated in a leaves in autumn. It’s obviously a can take place. in 1778. It had . The oak planted close to tree that likes to be contrary! been named in 1771 by von The Virginia juniper has many Jussieu’s Orangery most probably Linné, based on the bilobate Furthermore, its roots, rather attributes. Its wood, which mites came from Louis XV’s nurseries form of its leaves. than lying deep in the soil, come don’t like, is used to make at Trianon; it germinated in 1768, out above ground. Knee-like clothing chests. This is why it A truly ancient tree, dating from in fact. It stopped growing protuberances help the tree symbolises help and protection. primitive times, i.e. 300 million at around 30 metres tall and its capture the oxygen required by As its name suggests, this tree years ago, it is known for its trunk measures 5.13 metres, this species, which is native comes from North America. hardiness: it was one of the first one metre up from the ground. to marshland and normally stands The circumstances of its arrival Ginkgo biloba species to begin growing again in water! These roots also help in Europe remain subject to Ginkgo biloba around Hiroshima after the debate, but there was mention Bald cypress anchor it in soil softened atomic-bomb blast of 6 August of it in England in 1664. In Taxodium distichum by . It’s no wonder this 1945. On the other hand, a inhabitant of the Queen’s France, von Linné gave a very ginkgo in the English garden at Hamlet was planted on the edge precise description in 1750 Trianon was felled by lightning of a lake, probably in the early of a specimen in the Jardin des in 1960. 19th century. As far back Plantes, in Paris. At Versailles, It is a dioecious species, meaning as 1857, visitor guides to a 1777 order from the royal there are male and female the Palace were encouraging nurseries for Marie-Antoinette’s versions. It was planted at Trianon people to go and admire it. English garden lists two “red cedars”, so-called because of in 1789 during the revolutionary A native of Oceania, this tree The bald cypress originates the colour of their wood. Finally, takeover. Around 1820, sexual owes its name to Prince Eugene from , Mississippi and the post-Revolution inventory reproduction of the tree was (1663-1736), general field Florida and was brought to of 1795 indicates several Virginia attempted using a graft from a marshall of the imperial army of England by Charles I’s gardener, junipers at Trianon. female tree from the botanic John Tradescant II, in around the of gardens in Montpellier. In 1847, 1640. In France, in 1788, it was the German Nation, who spent This specimen was definitely 66 of the plants were recorded, classified among the “precious his childhood at the French court. planted during the restoration of most likely including this pair, the Estate of Trianon ordered by trees” in the Sèvres nursery Like the yew, it is perfect for planted around 1850. Napoleon I in 1810, when he managed by the Englishman – its shrubbery forms gifted it to his wife, Marie-Louise. It is nicknamed “the 40 écus John Williams. The example many of the silhouettes to be In fact, the Virginia juniper was tree” but not because of the in the sheep’s meadow almost found all over the Palace gardens. cultivated in the nearby nursery characteristic appearance of its certainly comes from the It is hardy, can grow to a where, in 1819, more than leaves. Instead, it is said to nurseries set up in this area good size without its branches 1,000 plants were recorded. refer to the exorbitant amount in the 19th century. thickening and its small Already nicknamed “the old tree” it cost the French botany fan, leaves stay compact, retaining on postcards in the 1900s, the M. de Pétigny, to bring it back the shape they were given. tree was heavily damaged in the to England, around 1770. Its severe appearance storm of 1999, but is still alive All the same, its foliage turns complements the thanks to the bracket installed to magnificent colours in the autumn allure of the pomegranates. prop it up. The cambium, which and it resembles thousands In the summer, it is bursting is the part of the trunk that of pieces of gold, glittering in with white flowers, which produce surrounds the sap and where the setting sun. Native to China, small red fruit. the cells that govern growth and it was discovered by westerners 18 19 Pomegranate southern Spanish of Granada, there was “the father” and “the of this village means “beech” names, such as the lyre, the eventually reaching a height of Punica granatum where it was introduced during son”, the latter having been in German and its legend is bull’s head, the bride… 3 metres, which is rare. the 7th century. It charmed planted next to the former when horrifically dramatic: five brothers Had it been planted properly in The long time it takes to grow, Louis XIV, who had it cultivated the “father” first started showing are said to have fought each the soil at Versailles, it would its dark evergreen leaves and in boxes in Provence, as well signs of weakness, in 1960. other to the death and their be a common beech. Instead, it colourful autumn berries means as north of the . Very few blood was splattered across the Its upright and broad stature, was grafted on to another beech, it is associated with eternity, other places can rival the trees, the memory of which which is all the more impressive demonstrating the botanical the cousin of death. It haunts Orangery at Versailles for the is retained in the colour of its when it stands alone, makes genius of the gardeners, who cemeteries like a symbol of number and maturity of leaves. this beech as ornamental brought it here in the early the resurrection of the soul. It is the pomegranates it contains. a species as the oak. Cited in At Versailles, it deigned to grow 19th century. easy to imagine its roots plunging down into the ground The red and seed-laden France since the 1800s, the alongside its counterparts, This tree grows ten times faster to retrieve it and take it to the pomegranate fruit represents cut-leaf beech was mentioned which is unusual. This tree tinged than the common beech and has top of the tree, from where birds fertility. A promise of numerous in the nurseries of Versailles/ with royal dark red normally astonishing longevity, making lift it off into the sky. In the offspring, its branches adorned Trianon in 1847, where 220 of prefers solitude and will actively it a symbol of passing time. the heads of married couples the plants were cultivated. suppress other trees. Because Middle Ages, it could be found in Roman times. It is also a of its height, the beech has on the tombs of the most The consistency and flexibility symbol of royalty, however, as its also sometimes served as a eminent people. So, perched of its wood mean it is easy to Common yew top resembles a small . landmark on high ground and as on this subterranean hiding work with and has many uses. Taxus baccata an observation post, in the north, place, wouldn’t it have been a It is used to make plywood, during both World Wars. harbinger of doom? It was Cut-leaf beech household utensils, tools, here, on 5 October 1789, that Fagus sylvatica children’s toys and musical a page came to implore ’asplenifolia’ instruments. Weeping beech Marie-Antoinette to return to Fagus sylvatica the King without delay, because ’tortuosa’ Purple copper beech the people were at the Fagus sylvatica of the Palace! F. atropurpurea But taxus can also be understood in the sense of order or placement. At Versailles, the yew clearly played a big part in the structuring of the Park. It is the source of many of the This tree is at least as lovely as that make up the strict its fruit. Its gnarled trunk seems Very common in France, the framework of the French-style to express the torments of an name of the beech had to work gardens, and of the age-old being but is brightened in the local dialects, like this Rooted in the rocks of that border the parterres and up by its pretty, deep-red “fau de Verzy”, which only grows Marie-Antoinette’s , it was enliven them with their evocative flowers. It comes from the high near Reims. In fact, this undoubtedly planted as it shapes. In fact, its base will live Iranian-Afghan plateau, where One feels very sheltered under particular variety only grows in was being built, in 1780, as the twice as long if the outer it is used to rocky, desert soil the splendid crown of this tree, highly localised areas, and Queen was establishing her branches are cut away, which and is shielded from the heat with its light and very fern-like nobody knows why, exactly. In picturesque garden. She often explains why it is so easy to cut by its leaves. leaves. These are slit into jagged the forest of Verzy, there are took refuge there, having and form into multiple shapes. The Romans called it malum fronds and are what create this How come it arrived in Switzerland, a thousand of these “weeping assignations in this discreet granatum, which means “apple cosy atmosphere. In the autumn, where it was flagged up for beeches”, with their crazy recess with two entrances… with plentiful seeds”, and they turn magnificent shades the first time in 1680, in Buch, in convolutions, which sometimes Because it likes rock and quiet the fruit gave its name to the of red and orange. Up to 1990, the canton of Zurich? The name see them being given evocative spots, the yew thrived there, 20 21 Cut-leaf chestnut tree Ironically, the chestnut was, for a 19th century. The species was equally nice fruit around dates from when the English Aesculus long time, a rather mysterious brought to France by Count Christmastime. As there aren’t garden was restored under hippocastanum species. Up until the late 19th, it Viguier in 1864 – much later that many of them, in winter, Napoleon I, when he gifted the ’laciniata’ was thought to have originated than the date palm, which they are placed in a circle Estate to his wife, Marie-Louise, in northern India, where botanists appeared on the Mediterranean around the statue of Louis XIV in 1810. The one in the Queen’s went to find it, without any joy. coast from the beginning of that holds pride of place grove, also 25 metres tall, In fact, they found it a lot closer the . It outshone the in the centre of the Orangery. dates from Louis-Philippe’s time. to home, in northern Greece latter in terms of its robustness The grapefruit tree originates and Albania. and its decorative charms: a from Malaysia and has been larger, shorter trunk and highly The first seeds came to western known in the Far East for its fruit Maple-leaf plane tree fragrant, very bright green leaves, Europe in 1576 via the Holy for millennia. It was an English Platanus X acerifolia which made it sought after as Roman Empire’s ambassador to ship’s captain who brought it AND “Elephant’s foot” an ornamental and border tree. Constantinople, who sent them over from Barbados in the late plane tree on to , where they were Its genus, Phoenix, comes from 17th century. The plant appeared Platanus X acerifolia sown in the imperial gardens. the name given by the Greeks in Jamaica in 1750, then Although it hails from the Isle The chestnut tree was brought to the date palm; it has nothing to followed the West Indies route of Beauty, this Mediterranean to France in 1615 by the botanist do with the bird that rises from before arriving in Florida pine nevertheless thrives in the Bachelier. A first specimen was the flames but rather refers to in 1800, where it is still widely Parisian climate. Specimens planted in one of the Phoenicia, a major source of dates. grown. In Europe, for a long planted in 1784 in the city’s of the Soubise hotel in Paris, time it was considered as a Jardin des Plantes by Bernard and a second, in the city’s Jardin decorative species, featuring Jussieu are still around today. In des Plantes, in 1650. Grapefruit fruit with a thick rind and juicy 1786, the head of that garden, This specimen does not look Citrus maxima texture. But it wasn’t thought André Thouin, advised that the at all like what we’d expect, with of as edible until around 1823, parks be copiously planted its drooping demeanour and “double-headed” palm when it was crossed with a with them. He extolled their deeply cut leaves, which give it Phoenix canariensis sweet orange. solidity and suppleness, which is “laciniate” designation. This made them a popular choice is, in fact, an especially rare plant, for ship’s masts. which was around during the Corsican pine botanical activity that went on at Pinus nigra var. Its life expectancy is much Trianon at the turn of the century, corsicana longer than that of other pines from the 19th to the 20th. and it is also one of the biggest pines, able to reach 45 metres The chestnut is perhaps the in height. In France, there are most common tree in France, 24 different species, some of recognisable by its straight- them very prevalent, such as stemmed flowers that bloom the Scots pine and the maritime all over it in spring, and its A familiar sight in towns and pine, and others that are chestnuts that are spiky on the along roads in the south of associated with a particular outside, smooth on the inside According to the Orangery France, this tree has been much biotope, such as the mountain and beloved of children in the gardeners, this is the doyen of admired throughout history. pine and Swiss pine in upland autumn. Its usually considerable Clearly, its originality lies in its the boxed trees. This is mainly In classical times, particularly in areas, or the stone pine bulk shelters park and two stipes – rare in the case of because of its size – it is 4 metres Greece, it was used as a and Corsican pine close to town squares, and it the this tree, which originates from tall, despite the uncomfortable decorative tree. It has always the Mediterranean. pavements in November with the Canary Islands, where it was restrictions. The other grapefruit been thought of as the tree of its indented leaves. identified by an English botanist trees in the Orangery are far The specimen at Trianon is heroes and kings, and numerous at the beginning of the younger, although they produce 25 metres tall and probably legends are attached to it. 22 23 There is still some debate as to Sequoias disappeared from Japanese pagoda tree shelter this Chinese-style at the Château D’Anet. In Quite simply, it is its tulip- the origins of Platanus X acerifolia. Europe around 12,000 years Styphnolobium carousel, with its pagoda-like 1767, Dezallier d’Argenville’s shaped flower that gives this Is it the result of a cross between ago and didn’t resurface until japonicum sloping ? gardens treaty confirmed fact it hails from the eastern the oriental plane tree – introduced the middle of the 19th century. And weeping Japanese it as one of the most common United States. In its native This 15-metre-high pagoda to in the 3rd century B.C. The Gold Rush took Europeans pagoda tree species along the walkways country, it can grow to tree at Petit Trianon is one and which resurfaced in the late as far as the Sierra Nevada, Styphnolobium and in the groves. This 50 metres and it amazed the of the miracle survivors of the 16th century – and the American where they came across this japonicum ’pendulA’ was backed up by Du Breuil European naturalists with storm of 1999. plane tree, which was brought from huge conifer. Today, the “General a century later. its majestic structure and very America to England and then on Sherman” in California is Those in Jussieu’s Orangery straight trunk that thins out The lime is often associated to France by Buffon in the mid-18th considered to be the tallest are “weeping” varieties and naturally at the top. with femininity. Sweet nectars, century. What is certain is that the known tree in the world, soaring were planted around 1920. infusions and honey can all It has been around in first examples of “maple-leaf” plane to 84 metres and measuring Their drooping branches bow be produced from their flowers, England since 1640, brought trees were planted in 1750 in the 24 metres in circumference. down naturally towards the which, in the Middle Ages, over by Charles I’s gardener, Trianon park on the order of Louis XV. ground, with no interference The first seeds appeared in were prescribed for nervous John Tradescant II, and from the gardeners. The one in the Queen’s Hamlet England in 1853. The specimen disorders. This is why limes enthusiastically lauded by dates from 1798 and is now close to Jussieu’s Orangery is are planted close to hospitals. the writer John Evelyn in 30 metres tall. In addition to its one of the first to have been 1662. It was Admiral de la Small-leaved lime The origin of its name is majestic stature it has a sizeable planted in France, around 1870. Galissonnière who, in 1732, Tilia cordata controversial, but the Latin tilia trunk measuring 7 metres in At 38 metres tall with a trunk first brought the seeds to gives us the word telum, circumference, earning it the circumference of 7.4 metres, it is France, to Trianon. They were which means “javelin”. As it jaunty nickname “elephant’s foot” still young. It can live for more probably the origin of the happens, the light and flexible plane tree. The one in the King’s than 2,000 years and still has trees that have adorned the wood of the lime was used to Garden arrived after the planting lots to see at Versailles, from Queen’s grove since it was make Roman spears. It is also of this grove in 1818, when the its lofty crown. It’s not actually from Japan at all, created in 1775. These, too, the wood used in traditional Royal Isle was filled in, upon the but China! It was given this consistently produced seeds, The sequoia requires fire to pianos to make the keys, order of Louis-Philippe whose name by von Linné in 1767, which were mentioned in reproduce. What happens is, the which are then clad in ivory. arrival the tree likely witnessed. because of its prevalence in the 1788 by Abbot Nolin, director cones open up in extreme heat, Land of the Rising Sun. To of the royal nurseries, in a releasing their seeds. So that it avoid confusion, it’s nickname – message referring to harvesting doesn’t burn down, the bark Virgina tulip tree Giant sequoia “pagoda tree” – can be used. them for cultivation. As for the of the tree is thick and fibrous Liriodendron Sequoiadendron tulip tree in the Spring garden, an replete with water. Ironically, Nevertheless, it was from Peking tulipifera giganteum it dates from 1820 and at Versailles, it is protected that a Jesuit missionary, père d’Incarville, who, in 1747, sent so is almost 200 years old. by several lightning rods situated This is the most common Bernard de Jussieu the seeds close by. tree species in France, where The tree grows relatively from what was, at the time, an the lime feels right at home. quickly, but only flowers after unknown tree, or Arbor sinarum Native to Europe, it is happy 25 or 30 years, bearing incognita. The seeds were in all types of soil. Of all large, fragrant of yellow, distributed in France, and then the deciduous trees in our green and orange. England, from where Antoine temperate regions, it can Richard brought back a reach the greatest heights. specimen in 1764. Queen Marie-Antoinette had it planted Its excellent adaptability means close to Petit Trianon, next to it is widely used to line pathways the merry-go-round game that in gardens. The earliest of livened up her picturesque them can be dated back to garden. What better way to 1540 and Diane de Poitiers 24 25 Établissement public du CHÂTEAU, Download the free DU musée et du domaine national “Château de Versailles” de Versailles app* RP 834 - 78008 Versailles Cedex from onelink.to/chateau Information and bookings +33 (0)1 30 83 78 00 chateauversailles.fr Join us on

Online Boutique The best of the Estate of Versailles, delivered directly to you: souvenirs, books, gourmet food items, decoration... boutique-chateauversailles.fr ... and explore the Admirable Trees Guided visits of the Estate of Versailles. Booking required Use the interactive map over the phone +33 (0)1 30 83 78 00, to find your way around the Estate. online chateauversailles.fr or on sale, the same day, at the Palace Find practical information, opening of Versailles, North Ministers’ Wing hours and suggestions for visits. (subject to availability). To get the most out of your visit, the app provides you with information in real time.

The app also includes a tour of This collection of is listed as the gardens, the Palace of Versailles, UNESCO World Heritage. the Estate of Trianon and the Gallery of Coaches. Photography © Agence Corbis Sygma / Pascal Le Segretain; © Château de Versailles / Christophe Fouin, Thomas Garnier, * available for iOS and Android in French, Didier Saulnier; © Musée Marmottan / Giraudon / Lauros / English and Spanish. The Bridgeman Art Library; © Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (dist. RMN- / image du MNHN, bibliothèque centrale); © RMN-Grand Palais (château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot; © Tadzio. All rights reserved Illustrations © Jean-François Péneau; © Emmanuelle Tchoukriel Graphic design Des Signes, Paris – February 2020

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