Le Jardin Français at Laura Plantation
Mark W. Thomas
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Vacherie, Louisiana
Laura Plantation has undergone a dramatic lifetime of two centuries plus. An exemplary display of authentic Creole architecture and culture, Laura has evolved: been added to, subtracted from, conserved, restored, burned, re-restored, and will continue to evolve into the future. Laura does not consist of merely a plantation house, but of numerous outbuildings, many no longer existing, along with its landscape and cultural context. It is also about its stories, its people. There exist extensive documents that give great insight into a wide range of aspects of daily life on the plantation, as well as descriptions of the physical environment.
Laura’s landscape could be described as hierarchical, divided into specific sectors by a series of fences. The outermost realms of the original property extended deep into the densely wooded cypress swamps, far beyond the vast fields of sugar cane. Nearer to the building complex were a series of utilitarian enclosures. The one closest to the main house consisted of private, ornamental gardens, safely protected from grazing animals. Although there are no drawings or exact descriptions of these planted areas, there is mention of circular forms, most likely simple parterre plantings, typical of early Louisiana.
The idea of the French Garden, or Jardin Français, is to commemorate three periods of Laura’s history, the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Three circular forms are integrated into a geometric boxwood parterre, giving a distinctively French appeal to the planting. Although a little more complex than an authentic Louisiana colonial parterre, the French Garden is meant to be a contemporary interpretation of an historic image. The design was developed by New Orleans landscape architect Mark Thomas, along with Sand and Norman Marmillion of Laura Plantation.
Canary Island date palms dominate the formal planting, with Mahonia fortunei in the margins, an Asian species introduced to Louisiana by Valcour Aime. While there are other examples of plant materials that could be found in a 19th century garden, such as Camellia, Gardenia, antique roses and citrus, there are also plants that are strictly recent introductions, such as Agapanthus and hybrid Crape Myrtle.
Completed in 1999, the garden was generously subsidized and sponsored by Friends of Vieilles Maisons Françaises, now known as the French Heritage Society.
