The Gardener of Versailles

I am reading the most wonderful book.  

Recently translated to French, this is a memoir of the current Gardener-in-Chief at Versailles.

He starts with the storm of  December 26, 1999 when it looked as if Versailles was completely lost.  Damage, trees down, flooding, more damage.  A heart-breaking disaster.

A lot of amazing things happened to bring the garden back to life.

It's a lovely read and I highly recommend it!

I think one would enjoy the book even if you had never been to Versailles.

Since I was there, it was particularly fun to visualize some of the places and plantings he wrote about.

Is this one of the trees damaged in the storm?
Wish I had made notes to go along with my photos,
but after 3 years I only know this tree is in Versailles.

I'm on my way to France this week.

I will be in Provence, Toulouse, and  near Caussade.  

After reading M. Baraton's book I'm sorry Paris isn't just a bit closer to my planned destinations.