Potager du roi, Versailles

The Potager du roi (Kitchen Garden of the King), near the Palace of Versailles, produced fresh vegetables and fruits for the table of the court of Louis XIV.

[1] The Potager du roi was conceived as part of the Palace of Versailles, a showcase for the grandeur of France and its king.

Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie had participated in creating the gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte, and was hired to design and build the Potager and to supply the Court with fruits and vegetables, soon after Louis had arrested Fouquet.

Therefore, La Quintinie started by installing drains for the excess water and carting in better soil from the hills of Satory.

[2] After this preparatory work, construction continued according to La Quintinie's plans, with François Mansart designing the walls and terraces.

The different chambers of the gardens created individual microclimates, which allowed La Quintinie to grow fruits and vegetables out of season.

[2] In his Instruction pour les jardins fruitiers et potagers,[3] on the results obtained by his use of different types of manure, he wrote: la chaleur, tant dans la terre que dans l'air ne peut régulièrement venir que des rayons du soleil.

Louis XIV brought important visitors, such as the Ambassador of Siam and Doge of Venice, to see the wonders of the garden.

François II Le Normand made a lawn on the Grand Carré, and experimented with new varieties of plants.

Le Normand experimented with rare varieties of plants, such as Euphorbia, jasmine, Latania palms, and bananas brought back by French explorers.

He then commissioned his architect, Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin, to design and build a country house (known as Le pavillon de la pièce d'eau des Suisses) and an English garden, the Parc Balbi on the estate.

In 1795, the Convention, the revolutionary government, declared the Potager to be a national institute, the tenant farmers were ejected, and the garden became a school and scientific center.

[2] In 1848, the potager became part of the new Institut national agronomique at Versailles, and, the following year, was put under the direction of Auguste Hardy, an agronomist.