A million first steps
As you might expect, the British Library has an extraordinary wealth of archive material, including much that is essential study for the serious landscape historian. Its strap line, with some … Continue reading
What makes a garden Japanese?
Today I’m delighted to be a guest contributor on the splendid American blog Gardening Gone Wild. My post describes two beautiful places in Paris, and ponders on their common designation … Continue reading
Vaux le Vicomte
On Saturday I led a guided tour of the fabulous estate at Vaux le Vicomte, southeast of Paris, which was the first commission for André Le Nôtre. These are possibly … Continue reading
Conserving abandon
The Jardin d’Agronomie Tropicale on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes is a curious relic of France’s colonial past. Yesterday I joined Adam of Invisible Paris for a guided … Continue reading
Springtime parks in Paris II
Here’s another off-the-beaten-track park to enjoy in this glorious spring sunshine. It’s almost the antithesis of yesterday’s recommendation, which was a small, naturalistic, nineteenth century park in the northwest of … Continue reading
Simple winter pleasures at musée Albert Kahn
A recent post praised the January drabness of two Paris gardens. It seemed to strike something of a chord, so today I offer another place where winter is at her … Continue reading
Potager du Roi: from stinky pond to king’s kitchen
When Louis XIV decided in 1678 that he wanted a potager (kitchen garden) near his palace in Versailles, where he could bring visitors to admire the abundant produce, the site … Continue reading
Modern heritage with a capital ‘M’
This weekend is Les Journées du Patrimoine, French Heritage Open Days, and one of the buildings involved is Le Corbusier’s masterpiece the Villa Savoye in Poissy, northeast of Paris. We … Continue reading
The Cheshire Cat at Versailles
From tomorrow, the chateau of Versailles is hosting an exhibition by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. He describes himself as like the Cheshire Cat, guiding the visitor through the wonderland of … Continue reading
Dan Kiley at La Défense
This week I went to see Dan Kiley‘s landcape design at La Défense, the business district to the west of Paris. Kiley is one of my favourite landscape architects. I … Continue reading
The world’s first rose garden?
La Roseraie de l’Haÿ is a glorious summer garden, just a few kilometres south of Paris. Dedicated to the queen of flowers, it is the oldest rosarium in France and … Continue reading
Dreams of Chelsea
Today is the first day of the Chelsea Flower Show and each year we become rather wistful, thinking about the wonderful show gardens, and indeed about our own little plot … Continue reading
a landscape lover's blog 