Gardener to the King - Tapa dura

At the heart of Louis XIV's kingdom lay the sprawling palace of Versailles. The stage on which the absolutist king could play host to his court, Versailles was the display cabinet for his riches. When the courtiers tired of billiards, dazzling displays of horsemanship or even the tittle-tattle generated by scandal, it was to the Royal Gardens that they turned. Even the kitchen gardens were worth a spin. In Gardener to the King, these royal vegetable plots share the limelight with the Sun King's head gardener--Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie. Unconcerned by the gory tales of battle, Jean-Baptiste worries instead about the ratios of clay, silica and chalk, the snow and frost gnawing at the earth, the slowness of snails. While the King extends France's boundaries through war, Jean-Baptiste oversees the expansion of his gardens, with wall upon wall of fortress-like battlements and an army of labourers. But by helping the King destroy villages and cemeteries to make room for fountains and espaliered trees, Jean-Baptiste feels compromised--a lone conscience amongst those who keep the world at arm's length with "layers of powder, high heels, wigs, jellies and sauces." Gardener to the King is a small, quiet story, relayed in an intricate, elegant style rich with allegory. There are heaps of gardening tips too, in case you're not sure when to apply manure or earth up your cucumbers and melons. And these are worth noting--even today, Jean-Baptiste's kitchen garden produces strawberries in December and lettuces in January. --Jane Honey August 1674. The Sun King, Louis XIV, one of Europe's greatest tyrants, celebrates victory over Holland. Meanwhile, his head gardener at Versailles, Monsieur le Jardinier, wages his own war to make its orchards and kitchen gardens nothing less than a work of art.