Louis XIV Vegetable garden
The Potager du roi, near the Palace of Versailles, produced fresh vegetables and fruits for the table of the court of Louis XIV. It was created between 1678 and 1683 by Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, the director of the royal fruit and vegetable gardens.
Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigault. Public Domain
“A good gardener must have a passion for new things” confided to Louis XIV, Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, agronomist and founder of the King’s Vegetable Garden of Versailles.
La Quintinie trained as a lawyer in Paris but gave it up to devote himself to gardening. In 1670 he was appointed director of the Kings’ gardens and vegetable gardens. In 1678 he designed the vegetable garden. By then Versailles was already making a name for itself as one of the most splendid palaces in the world, the garden simply added to the wonderment.
Instructions for fruit gardens and vegetable gardens, Paris, 1716, Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, 1688
It was said he could provide up to 4000 figs and 150 melons a day.
Lettuces were grown in January. Strawberries were ripe in March. Coffee beans and bananas were grown, as by 1685 glass making techniques meant greenhouse conditions could be created. The underground heating kept roots healthy even in the dead of winter. Louis would show off the area to foreign visitors, it became one of the most famous gardens of its time.Today, at the King’s Vegetable Garden, the harvests are made by hand, at maturity and above all with respect for the plant. Listed as a historic monument and remarkable garden, it is also home to the historic site of the National School of Landscape.
Mademoiselle Saint-Germain Beauty Collection
Behind Mademoiselle Saint Germain hides the ambition and ardor of Charles Cracco, pharmacist, passionate about botany and historyPromise of local botanical virtues, the King’s Vegetable Garden of Versailles instills in him the desire of creating skin products with these plants. “Why not unearth the benefits of these ancestral plants under the prism of new and local treatments?”
Because Made in France does not mean local, at Mademoiselle Saint Germain goes further.
- A research and development laboratory in France.
- Ingredients that come both from the King’s Vegetable Garden but also from local and responsible producers that you will discover through a Tour de France.
- Cosmetics made in Lower Normandy, with French packaging.
Today, they are Pioneers in the exclusive use of French ingredients, Mademoiselle Saint Germain offers effective and natural cosmetic products made with ingredients from exceptional French gardens and vegetable gardens.
Get the Royal Glow with OuiPlease
Discover two products from Maison Saint-Germain in our upcoming Box!
- The Tonic Mist with Rosemary. The Tonic is a beauty elixir that acts as a daily radiance booster. Directly inspired by the Queen of Hungary water recipe, it purifies the skin thanks to its pure extract of rosemary cultivated in the Vegetable Garden of the King of Versailles. Also astringent, it tightens the pores and will be the perfect ally to help the skin to be more resistant to external aggressions. Fresh and invigorating, The Tonic vaporizes like a light mist (Glass pump bottle. 100 mL).
- This natural origin bio-cellulose mask is formulated with 3 anti-aging recognized active ingredients: blueberries, apple stem cells and restructuring polysaccharides restructurants work together to fight against the signs of aging and preserve the youthfulness of your skin.
