Versailles

A World Heritage Site since 1979 , the Palace of Versailles is one of the finest works of French art of the 17th century . The former hunting lodge of Louis XIII was remodelled and enlarged by his son Louis XIV , who established his court and government there in 1682 . Until the French Revolution , the kings succeeded each other and took turns embellishing the château .

In 1661, Louis XIV commissioned André Le Nôtre to create and maintain the gardens of Versailles. In his eyes, these gardens were as important as the castle . Work began at the same time as the construction of the palace and lasted about forty years. But André Le Nôtre did not work alone. Jean-Baptiste Colbert , overseer of the royal buildings from 1664 to 1683, managed the construction site; Charles Le Brun , appointed in January 1664 as the king’s first painter, provided designs for a large number of statues and fountains; in the end, the king himself was presented with all the projects and wanted ‘to know all the details’.

In 2024, restoration work began on the Parterre du midi whose old boxwood needed replacing. It was opted to carry out Le Notre’s original designs. For this renovation, the low hybrid Betterbuxus® Renaissance was chosen, which is perfect for low hedges.

Due to the wet weather and the approaching Olympic Games, the works were started later than planned, but an enthusiastic planting team brought this assignment to a successful conclusion. The plants were supplied by Willaert, one of our distributors. For France. The broderie was officially inaugurated at the end of May 2025 and looks beautiful just 1 year after planting.

With our sustainable Betterbuxus®, this garden is again ready for the next generation. Betterbuxus® needs no chemical fungicides against the dreaded fungal disease, both during propagation and in the garden. This saves a lot of work and resources throughout the life of the plant.

Betterbuxus® hybrids are resistant varieties developed in Herplant BV’s distribution programme
and are resistant to Calonectria(Cylindrocladium).
More info at www.betterbuxus.com