Shortly after his return from Italy, Jean Baptiste de la Quintinie gave up his legal activities to devote himself fully to gardening.

[3] He began to read the ancient authors dealing with agronomy, such as Columella, Varro, Virgil or Pliny the Elder and to practice in the gardens of the Hôtel Tambonneau.

[5] Following the disgrace of the superintendent of finance (Nicolas Fouquet) in 1661, Louis XIV gave him the job of designing and managing the Versailles vegetable garden.

[5] Built with the objective of supplying the tables of the royal court with fresh produce, the Potager du roi provided several tons of fruit and vegetables each year.

To satisfy the king's desires, Jean Baptiste de La Quintinie developed cultivation techniques for off-season production – strawberries at the end of March,[7]:11, asparagus in winter or lettuce in December.

[5] In 1687 he was annobled by Louis XIV and chose a chevron azure with two stars and a tree as his coat of arms.,[5] Jean Baptiste de La Quintinie died on 11 November 1688 in Versailles.

Tome 2 / qui ont paru en France pendant ce siècle, avec leurs portraits au naturel (in Old French).