In the Garden
Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener
I apologize to anyone who visited the Indiana State Fair and was confused by my last column. I was unaware of some of the changes that had been made at the fair. The 4-H garden and floriculture exhibits have been moved to the Centennial Pavilion, the former boys’ dormitory. The commercial building is closed and the vendors have moved into the old Horticulture building. It is a smaller building, so there are fewer commercial vendors. There are much-improved livestock facilities and a new Farm Bureau Pavilion. The pioneer village has been expanded, offering more space for craftsmen and glimpses into history. I hope no one got lost because of my errors. The Indiana State Fair is still a great exposition of Hoosier agriculture. It continues through August 18.
My fair activities left me with a day between fairgrounds visits, so I made a fun side trip north to Shipshewana. It had been several years since I had visited the flea market there, but I was not disappointed. This is a gardener’s dream market. There are several vendors that offer plants. The quality of plants was excellent, and I found some varieties that I had not seen in garden centers. There are also many vendors offering garden tools and décor. The flea market is only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so plan accordingly.
If you are in the area, you may wish to consider another stop at a unique garden. The Krider World’s Fair Garden in Middlebury is small, at just over two acres, but it is full of whimsy and history. The garden was originally installed at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair, and was disassembled and reconstructed in Middlebury after that exposition. Middlebury is only seven miles from Shipshewana, and also offers several nice places to shop and eat.
As if my travels were not enough to keep me away from my garden, I found myself spending a lot of time watching the Summer Olympics. I found myself watching for sites that were familiar. I was especially intrigued by the setting of the equestrian events—the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. Watching gave rise to memories of my visits there.
King Louis XIII purchased the property in the early 1600’s to use it as a country chateau. He also had the original gardens constructed. However, it was Louis XIV who ordered the construction of the grand palace and the opulent gardens. The central axis of the gardens is the Grand Canal, which is surrounded by numerous bosquets, parterres and formal gardens.
Louis XIV had been impressed with the fountains of Rome and considered numerous fountains to be a symbol of his importance. However, the fountains presented a great problem for landscape designer Andre Le Notre. The fountains of Rome work because of the mountains surrounding the city. The Romans had learned the art of using progressively smaller pipes to build up water pressure. However, there are no mountains around Versailles. Le Notre devised an ingenious hydraulic pump system that is still in use today, but even that would not make all of the fountains work at the same time. The solution was to just activate the fountains the king could see. When he went into the gardens, a servant went ahead to turn on the next fountain before he arrived. Another servant followed him to shut off the fountain he had passed, since the water pressure could not run multiple fountains at the same time. If you visit Versailles today, you will see beautiful water shows that would have pleased Louis XIV, but would have been impossible in his day. If you ever travel to France, I suggest you make a visit to Versailles a part of your itinerary.