The Art of Gardens
"FONTAINIER (a fountain engineer) is a person who uses certain principles and repeated experimentation to study the waters; who gages them to surmise their quantity, gathers them in blind stone drains to drive them into a holding or reservoir; who knows how to alter their gradient and drive them to their place of destination; who knows the power and speed of the gushing waters; who calculates them, to work out how much is being used, and how to send the correct amount to the pipes, to form beautiful, well-fed jets that rise to the required height, and through economical planning, distributes the waters throughout a garden, in such a way that they all play in time, without conflicting alteration between them."
Denis Diderot
The trade of the fontainier take its place in the Encyclopaedia through illustrations depicting the tools used, the levelling, driving and gauging of water, and the construction of basins and different water rooms.
In the Pays de Langres, the site that is most representative of such a mastery of water is found in the village of Cohons. A French-style garden attributed to André le Nôtre, the "Jardin de Silière" remains private to the house.
Beyond flowerbeds surrounded by boxwood, thin jets of water and immaculate arbours, the garden also offers an illustration of human development through its layout and stone guides.
On your return, a romantic walk amidst the soon-to-be bicentennial trees will see you stroll along a clear and babbling stream, made even more beautiful by two picturesque waterfalls.
