A pastel color palette has been a very popular theme in both interiors and exteriors for centuries. The 18th century French Court epitomized the look. This color palette was beautifully captured in Sophia Coppola's 2006 historical drama "Marie Antoinette". The film won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

You can carry this opulent theme to you own garden by using the "Queen" of garden flowers, the Rose. More specifically, the David Austin English Rose. David Austin has spent over fifty years developing this collection. He combines the forms and fragrances of old roses with the repeat-flowering of the modern rose.

Whether you plant only a few roses or install a grand rose garden, keep in-mind two things: Form and Color. These two elements are key in establishing a rose garden that will feel at home in any "French Court" garden. The best "form" is the old fashion rose and the best "colors" are soft pastel shades.

I recently designed a rose garden in Orinda that used David Austin English Roses exculsively and the result was stunning. The client requested a romantic feel for the garden. All of the roses where in a soft pastel hue. As you can see from the photos below, the roses captured the very essence of romance and tied in with the colors of 18th century France. It seems like nothing has been more romanticized than the French Court of Versailles.

Diseñador de Jardín,

Mario