17th-Century Formal Garden Grandeur for Modern Landscapes

Our gardens may seem far from Italian villas and French palaces, but we can borrow their features for formal grandeur. Formal design roots trace to Italian Renaissance gardens, influencing 17th-century French masters like André Le Nôtre (Versailles). These featured formal layouts with terraces, parterres, long straight avenues, water features, and topiary within strict geometry. Translating this to modernity means interpreting key historical elements: parterre, allées, clipped evergreens, treillage, water features. Simplicity within controlled geometry is the basis—plants, in topiaries and parterres, take center stage, unlike many minimalist gardens today.

Start with a Parterre

Vital to contemporary formal gardens. In the 17th century, parterres filled flat areas around the house, evolving from Tudor knot gardens into stylized designs of low boxwood (Buxus spp.) hedging. Sand or gravel surrounded central beds with low plantings or colored gravel.

A London front garden features round boxwood parterres around textural shrubs and herbs, enclosed by a taller hedge on gravel.

Simplest parterres can be most effective, especially in smaller gardens or outdoor rooms. Clipped boxwood's (Buxus sempervirens, zones 5–8) geometric precision brings style and simple grandeur.

Loosely clipped boxwood-edged beds enclosing colorful plantings without distracting from geometric formality—same feature, different feel.

A modern take: loosely cut boxwood edging infilled with perennials including tall ornamental alliums (Allium sp.) as architectural centerpiece. Standard bay laurels (Laurus nobilis, zones 8–10) clipped into balls along the front; boxwood pyramids along the side.

Create an Allée

The allée—a path bordered by trees or shrubs—was central to 17th-century formal gardens. Usable in contemporary gardens to bring formality to small spaces. Straight lines work in compact gardens as at Versailles. A narrow gravel path bordered by lavender leads to clipped English yew (Taxus baccata, zones 5–7) and a Lutyens-style bench.

Furnish with Topiary

Topiary expressed man's control over nature—central to formal gardens where nature was primped into elaborate parterres. In simplest form, clipped topiary highlights geometric design, ensuring formality through precise shapes.

A front garden exudes grandeur with geometric design and multiple topiaries. Boxwood cubes hold the design; tall clipped bay laurels give height. Geometric designs can seem 2D; topiary shapes (spheres, pyramids, cubes) bring the third dimension.

Clean lines of a small formal layout heightened by clipped evergreen blocks on steps and beside a water feature.

Asymmetry can bring formality too. Topiary boxwood balls replace low hedge-lined beds in a modern parterre.

Add a Touch of Treillage

Treillage (wooden trellis) has been a garden feature since medieval times, popular in 17th-century formal gardens. The obelisk (tuteur) gives height and dimension—used as focal points or pathway intersection markers. In contemporary gardens, they bring formality, especially among informal plantings. Support climbers, roses, or fastigiate conifers; an unclothed obelisk adds formal appearance within looser designs.

Make Room for a Water Feature

17th-century grand gardens favored lavish water—canals with pleasure boats on long reflective stretches. A contemporary rill might be the closest modern equivalent. Its simple formality and reflective qualities emphasize clean, geometric layout.