Home > Special Collections > Exhibitions > Cultivating Gardens >
Case four
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| Nicolas de Bonnefons, The French
gardiner: instructing how to cultivate all sorts of fruit-trees, and
herbs for the garden. London: Printed by J.M. for John Crooke,
1669. DeBeer Eb/1669/B |
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French manuals
As well as writing his own books on gardening and arboriculture, the English virtuoso John Evelyn translated several influential French manuals. The first (1658) was Nicolas de Bonnefons's Le Jardinier François, a handbook on the cultivation of choice fruits and quality vegetables. The French raised many types of vegetable and herb and Evelyn's translation was designed to introduce some of these to the more conservative English market, along with detailed cultivation instructions. Four editions appeared between 1658 and 1691, variously illustrated. This is the second edition.
The ultimate French potager was the eight hectare royal kitchen garden at Versailles, made between 1677 and 1683. Walled and subdivided to provide a range of microenvironments, it was under the direction of Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie. His book on its design and operation was translated by John Evelyn as The Compleat Gard'ner (1693). Le Potager du Roi was not an ornamental kitchen garden as claimed by some in the 20th century, but a strictly functional garden dedicated to raising top-quality fruits and vegetables.