Gardener of Versailles Quotes

“Roses in particular have undergone so many changes that they have often lost their scent. They have become floral postcards, odorless invalids—visually perfect, but with none of the old emotion.”
― Alain Baraton, The Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World's Grandest Garden

“Everything that was once alive is now mechanical. Technology certainly brought a new ease and accuracy, but apart from these ultimately less important details, the new equipment has caused our quality of life to deteriorate. Technical progress in my profession has allowed for improved comfort, but not improved living, and it would be a serious error to confuse the two. You aren't happier in a leather armchair; you’re just better seated.”
― Alain Baraton, Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World's Grandest Garden

“I often imagine what our lives would be like without trees. We won't even dwell on the fact that our atmosphere would be sorely lacking in oxygen...The tree gave human beings everything, but today it has received little in the way of thanks.”
― Alain Baraton, Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World's Grandest Garden

“At the end of his life, suffering from gout and no longer able to walk, he set down the How to Show the Gardens of Versailles, a manuscript that exists in six versions...The fourth version is particularly touching, as it is an autograph copy. It is humanizing to see the marble king's handwriting and I find it amusing to note the royal spelling errors - which were numerous in the days before standardization...I almost feel a twinge of tenderness toward the king who couldn't spell...”
― Alain Baraton, Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World's Grandest Garden

“Visitors are informed, but what do they feel? I can't find the warmth of Versailles in such blandness, and I don't think tourist come here in search of information at all. The bus-loads of Japanese tourists and honest grandmothers don't visit the Queen's bedroom to learn about the particular type of canopy bed she slept in or the sort of wood it is made from; they come to relive a moment in the queen's life.”
― Alain Baraton, Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World's Grandest Garden