Although I usually like all things English, I do have a fondness for a French garden. In particular, I want a parterre. Now since my backyard is more like a cow pasture, it might be a bit out of place, but I have wanted it for so long that I must make it happen. It is obviously not a passing fancy, but rather an obsession at this point. My Pinterest board and camera roll are filled with these garden designs.
Parterre is “an ornamental arrangement of flower beds of different shapes and sizes,” per dictionary.com. The type of parterre, pronounced pahr – tAIR, that I have in mind is the large square that has two crossed paths running from corner to corner. In the center of the square is a fountain, sundial or tree (I am not picky). The four triangles would each be lined with short nosed hedges and then filled with herbs, flowers or varying shades of greenery.
My husband points out that it sounds like lots of weeding. That is true, but it would be so pretty! It would feel like we were in France without having to actually get jet lagged!
I also want another parterre in the front, but this one will be clover shaped, lined in trimmed boxwood or dwarf yaupon holly, and filled with different colored grasses. My husband loves all types of fountain grass, but, as you have read, I love a formal garden. I thought this arrangement, inspired by the cover of a Frontgate catalogue, might work for both of us.
Are parterre gardens a bad idea for Texas?
