Gardens at Chenonceau

There are two formal jardins à la française at Chenonceau. The story of those two gardens is long and complicated. The first garden — the larger of the two — was designed and created for Diane de Poitiers when she lived at Chenonceau, through a grant from king Henri II, from 1547 until 1559. When Henri died, his wife (it was an arranged marriage), queen Catherine de Médicis (de' Medici in Italian), evicted Diane from Chenonceau. Here's a photo of Diane's garden.

Catherine wanted the Château de Chenonceau for herself. As the mother of Henri's young son and his regent, Catherine lived there until her death in 1589. She made significant changes in Diane's garden, and she had the second Chenonceau garden designed and planted. Here's a photo of Catherine's garden.

Apparently, Catherine's garden has not been significantly modified since the late 16th century.

Do you think the younger gardener put on his color-coordinated T-shirt by design?

This is a photo of Catherine's garden that I took in late March 2006. Spring had not yet sprung.

Gardens à la française are laid out in geometrical patterns and are very closely trimmed and tended.

I've taken about 800 pictures at Chenonceau since the year 2000, including many photos of these gardens.
Every year, it seems, they are planted in these same pink flowers.