Jardin d'Henri de France et de Navarre - in english

Gardens flourished in France under the sign of an arts policy, as in the curious Allegory of France, a painting executed for the court of Prague in the early 17th century. It depicts a cavalry clash, a celebration in sumptuous gardens and, in the foreground, two musical instruments, including a lute and a book of poetry.
The art of gardens is an art of peace. By heritage and taste, but also because it put an end to civil discord and wars, the first of the Bourbons took a keen interest in it. In 1600, the Théâtre d'agriculture et mesnage des champs by the Protestant gentleman Olivier de Serres (1539-1619) contributed to the modernisation of knowledge, as part of a campaign of publications in praise of the king. In 1608, Le Jardin du Roy tres chrestien Henry IV, dedicated to Queen Marie de Médicis, brought together the experience of Jean Robin, "the king's herbalist", and Pierre Vallet, "court embroiderer", author of highly accurate plates.

In Pau, the houses of Foix, Albret and then Bourbon continued to enrich their gardens, as if to assert their claim to the crown of Navarre at the end of the 15th century and throughout the 16th century. In May 1598, the Calvinist traveller from La Rochelle Jacques Esprinchard described them as "the most beautiful [...] anywhere in Europe". That same year, Henri IV, who was very attached to this maternal heritage, had plans and drawings (now lost) drawn up by Jean-Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau. Several descriptions mention carefully carved "figures" in the shape of animals, coats of arms, prophets or ancient gods and goddesses, as well as the famous Castet Beziat, a small Mannerist-style pleasure pavilion built by Jeanne d'Albret in 1563-1564. The gardens of the Kings of Navarre, in their golden age, played on the succession and variety of effects, in an aesthetic reminiscent of the pleasures experienced by the first man in the earthly paradise, as described by Guillaume Du Bartas: "chaque parquet / Bien comparti ressemble un bigarré bouquet" (Seconde Semaine, I, "Éden").