Houston Parterre Garden Design, French Landscape Design --

Houston Parterre Garden Design, French Landscape Design --
A parterre garden is a type of formal garden created by 16th Century French nursery designer Claude Mollet. Mollet based his design on the square boundaries and elaborate interior patterns of English knot gardens. However, he conceived of the parterre garden as fulfilling a different purpose for French landscapes. Instead of being viewed by people who were passing by them on the ground, Mollet wanted his gardens to be viewed from the high vantage points of open windows, balconies, and palisades. He therefore divided the single square into four squares, with gravel paths that intersect in the middle. He also changed the vegetation contents from an emphasis on herbs and small flowering plants to larger growth that could be better seen from high places.