Les jardins familiaux des Petits-Bois à Versailles : un patrimoine vivant à préserver

• Main Author: Fabienne Boursier
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication 2018-12-01
• Series: In Situ : Revue de Patrimoines
• Subjects: allotment garden; historical garden; ‘Remarkable Garden’ label; ethnographic heritage; intangible heritage; Versailles
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/insitu/18892

This article is a presentation of the family allotment gardens known as the ‘Petits-Bois’ gardens, situated at Versailles near Paris in the Yvelines department. It sets out to describe their values in terms of historical, food provision, social and environmental considerations, and to warn of the dangers that threaten their existence today, primarily real estate pressures. The gardens are a part of local and national horticultural, social and urban history, and their popular appreciation as heritage led to their being awarded the French culture ministry’s ‘Remarkable Garden’ label in 2014. The article is based on the results of an ethnographical research project carried out in 2015 on the Petits-Bois gardeners, after the garden had received this label. It describes the characteristics of the site today and presents the gardening population in all the diversity of its origins. It is also interested in specific gardening practices such as apprenticeship, the transmission of gardening skills, the products used, the improvement of the soils and the rotation of cultures and varieties of plants cultivated. In conclusion, it also looks at some of the points of disagreement that have arisen amongst the gardeners.