Thomas Blaikie, Gardener to the French Court
‘Loudon’s dream of picturesque gardens had been decaying for years. Quatremère delivered the coup de grâce. He could think of no one better suited to a discussion of the ‘what next’ problem than Mr Thomas Blaikie. Mr Blaikie was a Scot with a similar background to his own. He was a wise man and 33 years older. Like Loudon, Blaikie had worked in an Edinburgh Nursery and lived in London. He had been a plant hunter in the High Jura. Now he lived in Paris and worked for the high aristocracy. Now he lived in Paris and worked for the high aristocracy. He had been on friendly terms with Queen Marie-Antoinette and had done planting designs for her.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024).
More about Thomas Blaikie
Thomas Blaikie (1750–1838) was a renowned Scottish gardener and landscape designer who played a significant role in shaping the gardens and parks of France during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His career is particularly notable for his influence on the English garden style in France, which contrasted with the more formal French gardens of the time.
Born in 1750 near Edinburgh, Scotland, Thomas Blaikie's life defied the expectations of a humble gardener. Blaikie's family owned a market garden on the south of Corstorphine Hill in Edinburgh. In 1775 the scientists John Fothergill and William Pitcairn employed him to explore the Swiss Alps and collect rare plant specimens. He meticulously documented his discoveries, sending detailed notes and plant samples back to England. He met the philosopher Voltaire and the explorer Michel-Gabriel Paccard. His Alpine adventure led to work at the gardens of the Comte de Lauraguais in Normandy, France. Later, he earned a prestigious commission to design the Bagatelle gardens for the Comte d'Artois, future King Charles X. Blaikie's design blended the natural beauty of his Scottish roots with the elegance of French style, leaving an enduring mark on this famed Parisian landmark. His reputation flourished, leading to commissions for the renowned opera singer Sophie Arnould and the powerful Duc de Chartres (later Philippe Égalité). Notably, Blaikie designed the Winter Garden at the Parc Monceau, further enriching Parisian landscapes.
Loudon’s account of Thomas Blaikie’s life
The 1835 edition of Loudon’s Encyclopedia of gardening has an account of Blaikie’s life and work:
- A number of gardens in the English style were laid out, just before the first French revolution, by Mr. Blaikie, a British landscape gardener. Mr. Blaikie was born in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and is still the proprietor of a house and large market garden, which belonged to his father, in the parish of Corstorphine. He went to France first as a botanical collector; and walked in that capacity through great part of Switzerland. He was one of the first Englishmen who ascended to the summit of Mont Blanc; and he sent to England most of the plants mentioned in the Hortus Kewensis as having been introduced by Dr. Fothergill. Mr. Blaikie entered upon the profession of a landscape gardener at Paris in 1776; and when we saw him there, in 1828, he gave us a list, from recollection, of all the places at which he had been employed, from which we subjoin an extract. Though advanced in years, Mr. Blaikie is still in vigorous health, and is actively employed in his profession. He is also a frequent contributor to the Gardener's Magazine.
- Gardens planned and made by Thomas Blaikie, in France, from 1776 to the first revolution :
- Laid out another place for the same nobleman at Manicamp, near Chauny, in Picardy. This was likewise sold.
- Began an English garden at Maison for the Count d'Artois. Went to England and bought the trees, as, at that time, few trees or shrubs could be found in any nursery near Paris.
- Began the garden of Bagatelle for the Count d'Artois. The little garden round the pavilion was designed and made by M. Belanger, the architect of the pavilion. The rest of the ground was taken from the Bois de Boulogne. The lawns and glades were cut out of the natural wood, and the remaining trees (though rather stunted, from the gravelly nature of the soil) were preserved, till till the newly planted trees and shrubs had grown high enough to replace them. This was a great advantage to the place.
- Made the plan, and began the gardens of St. Leu, for the Duke of Orleans. St. Leu was sold in the Revolution, and afterwards became the property of the Princess Hortense, wife of Louis Bonaparte. In 1828, it belonged to the Duc de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. Laid out the garden de Ginvillier, which belonged to the Count de Vaudreuil, but was afterwards purchased by the Duke of Orleans. During this period I altered some of the gardens de Guiscard, belonging to the Duke d'Aumont. These gardens were reckoned the chef d'œuvre of Morel. In 1828 they were the property of M. Oberkampf.
- Began making some alterations in the gardens at Monceau, then belonging to the Duke de Chartres, Faubourg de Roule, afterwards the Duke of Orleans. These gardens were laid out by Carmontelle, but without taste. They were originally small, but were afterwards augmented to their present size, and planted. After the Revolution, these gardens
were turned first into a nursery, and afterwards into public gardens; many of the plantations were destroyed, and the vistas blocked up.
- Made the plan, and began the park of Raincy for the Duke of Orleans. These plantations and works continued till the Revolution, when they were stopped, and the chateau was destroyed. Laid out a garden at Maupertuis for the Marquis de Montesquieu: this garden and the chateau belonging to it were both destroyed during the Revolution. At Auteuil, I laid out a garden for Madame la Comtesse de Boufleures, adjoining the Bois de Boulogne, also one for Madame Helvetius, and another for M. d'Harviller. All these have been since destroyed for building on. on. Planted part of a garden for the Count d'Artois at St. Germain, where he proposed to build a château. This place was sold during the Revolution. Planned and planted a garden at St. Mondé, for the Duchess de Rohan Chabot.
These are nearly all the works, besides those which I conducted in the different parks belonging to the Count d'Artois, and the Duke of Orleans, which I began previous to the Revolution. At that time all were stopped.
- Laid out a garden at St. Firmin, opposite L'Isle d'Amour at Chantilly, for M. de la Haye, who was seen afterwards guillotined; about the same time my house was plundered of every thing by the Revolutionists.
- When all my property was contiscated, I fled with my wife into Picardy, where we cultivated a farm for the Duke de Brancas. About this time I was named commissionnaire for the department of the Seine and the Oise, to form a botanical collection of plants at Versailles, but I refused, although I was appointed by the National Assembly.
- While a prisoner, under the protection of the mayor of Chauny, I laid out his garden, and those of some of the other inhabitants of that town. This year the garden of the Tuileries was planted with potatoes, and I furnished the sets, but was never paid for them.
Mr. Blaikie subjoined a list of fifty-two gardens, which he laid out for different princes and other noblemen, from the period of the first French revolution to 1828; but the catalogue does not contain any name of interest, save that of Labédoyère; whose château, near Marne, Mr. Blaikie describes as well wooded, and commanding fine views.
- The garden of Monceau, again become the property of the Orleans family, was in excellent order, as an English garden, in 1829. A young and talented English lady, who visited it in the June of that year, says, "It certainly does full justice to our national taste. The groups of trees and walks are prettier than anything I have seen for a long time. They were making hay, and I could almost fancy myself in England. I did not admire the Petit Trianon nearly so much." (Gard. Mag., vol. v. p. 457.)
- The grounds of the Petit Trianon are not without some features of natural beauty; and, like those of Bagatelle and Monceau, are still in good preservation. It was here that the queen of Louis XVI. used to entertain her guests, habited as a shepherdess; that the citizens used to hold fétes champêtres during the Revolution; and that Napoleon made the residence, first of Josephine, and afterwards of Maria Louisa.
- The grounds of Bagatelle, as laid out by Mr. Blaikie, are maintained nearly in their original state, and they form one of the most agreeable and successful imitations of the English manner in the neighbourhood of Paris. Through the kindness of M. La Pie, the geographer, at Paris, we obtained, in 1828, a correct plan (fig. 59.), which will give the reader a very good idea of the disposition of the principal masses. only view beyond the boundary is obtained from the house and the other buildings; and this view is chiefly the Seine, and beyond it the hill Mount Valerian. The most un-English parts of Bagatelle are the house and offices; and, indeed, it may be observed, generally, that, with the exception of some recent buildings erected by the very first French architects, such as Duraud and Percier, a French house is almost as easily distinguished from an English house, as a French garden is from an English one. In general, the faults of Bagatelle are those of most other English parks or gardens in France; viz. too much bustle and display, too many walks, too few trees and shrubs, and too many statues and seats, for the extent of surface. The result of all this is a want of shade, quiet, and repose. There is scarcely such a thing as a solitary, umbrageous garden walk in all France. The following are the details of the plan of Bagatelle :
- Mereville, the seat of M. Laborde, was one of the most considerable in France, and was laid out immediately before the Revolution, under the guidance of Robert, a famous landscape painter. The château stood on a terrace, and commanded a distant prospect, over a marsh originally of little interest. But the wall of this terrace was covered with artificial rockwork, a river formed in a marsh, with a bridge and cascade. The general surface was raised by earth, and on the right and left of the view from the house were raised considerable hills of earth, the one surmounted by a column 120 feet high, serving as a prospect-tower, and the other by a Doric temple of seventeen columns. At the base of one hill was a magnificent grotto and rocks; and near the other, stables, in the character of Gothic ruins. Various buildings were erected in other parts of the grounds; one to the memory of Captain Cook, and another to that of M. Laborde's two sons, who perished in the voyage of La Peyrouse. Every hardy exotic tree was planted; and many of them, as the tulip tree, Ailántus, Sophora, &c. grew with great vigour, and flowered luxuriantly. Many millions of francs were expended on this place, which for some years past has been falling into decay, and has been lately sold in lots.
- Among other English gardens in France, which existed previously to the Revolution, may be mentioned the Jardin de Marbœuf, planted by the Chevalier Jansen, an Englishman (Ed. Encyc., vol. xii. p. 543.); the gardens of Belœil, the château of the Prince de Ligne; Montreuil, a garden of the Princess Gremené; Maupertuis, a garden of the Marquis de Montesquieu, with a beautifully varied surface, abundance of wood and water, and a desert after the manner of Mereville.
A Visionary Landscape Designer: Blaikie's Contributions to French Gardens
Thomas Blaikie’s contributions to landscape design extended beyond mere aesthetics. His work marked a significant shift in French garden design, introducing the naturalistic English garden style that contrasted sharply with the formal, geometric layouts traditionally favoured in France. Blaikie’s gardens, characterised by winding paths, naturalistic plantings, and a harmonious blend with the surrounding environment, became the epitome of taste among the French aristocracy. His influence is still visible today in many of Paris's historic gardens, where his blend of Scottish naturalism and French refinement continues to inspire landscape designers and gardeners alike.
