André Le Nôtre - Royal Gardens Tree Crates

We don't see plants in a church very often do we? Read on and you will understand!

On 12 March 1613, André Le Nôtre was born. You may not know his name but if you have visited the Palace of Versailles, you have seen his work: the magnificent gardens!

His grand-father was Pierre Le Nôtre who had contributed in designing the Tuileries Gardens for Queen Catherine de Médicis around 1572.

André Le Nôtre designed over thirty parks and gardens. While in charge of Versailles, part of his job was to remove the orange trees from the gardens and store them in "orangeries" to protect them from the cold in the winter.

He got tired of planting over and over again the trees so he invented the portable orange tree crate and made the lives of generations of gardeners to come much easier!

If you get a chance to visit the Saint-Roch Church in Paris, you will see André Le Nôtre's resting place, as well as plants in the very crates he invented!