Broderie

broderie, also called parterre de broderie (French: “parterre of embroidery”), type of parterre garden evolved in France in the late 16th century by Étienne Dupérac and characterized by the division of paths and beds to form an embroidery-like pattern. The patterns were flowing ribbons of form (generally of formalized foliate design) rather than the angular shapes typical of other types of parterre; and the various beds into which the parterre was divided by paths were coordinated in a single symmetrical design.

The great masters of the parterre de broderie were the French gardeners Claude Mollet, André Le Nôtre (q.v.), and Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste Le Blond. The finest examples were in gardens such as at Hampton Court in England and Versailles in France. The parterre de broderie went out of fashion in the 18th century when the natural-appearing, or English, garden became fashionable.