Allée of trees

I went to college in Houston, and during my junior year lived off campus on a spectacular street called North Boulevard. I lived in the carriage house of a family with five children, and tutored the children in exchange for room and board. After living in dorms for two years, it was heaven to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the city, yet still be only a few blocks from my college.

The end of North Boulevard is incredibly picturesque, with large and gracious homes on sizeable lots. In front of these homes in a park-like median with a path in the middle, flanked on either side by live oaks. I used to walk along this path on the weekends, and even as a brash 20 year old, I appreciated the unique beauty of this setting.

Perhaps I had an affinity for the setting as it reminded me somewhat of my visits to London as a child, and one of my favorite places in London: Hyde Park. Many of the long paths in Hyde Park are evenly planted with trees that are hundreds of years old.

There is actually a term for this landscape design element – it is called an ‘allée’. An allée is an walkway or path lined with trees of the same species, and is a formal design concept where the view is extended to a emphasize something in the distance, or extended to the horizon. This picture, with landscape architecture by John Howard of Howard Design Studio, beautifully illustrates this concept; the pea gravel driveway lined with trees frames the view and leads the eye to the house at the end. This is one of my favorite pictures from John’s portfolio!

Another iconic picture that beautifully illustrates an allée was taken at Oak Alley Plantation in Louisiana. The live oaks (believed to be 300 years old) provide a picturesque canopy that frames the quarter mile walk to the entrance of this magnificent Greek-revival style home.

This landscape element combines both the incredible natural beauty of trees, and symmetry, which always speaks to me. The entire intent of an allée is to emphasize the axial view, which also has great appeal to me. Doesn’t this view make you want to walk down the path and find out what is at the end?

Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was clearly inspired by an allée of trees when he created this beautiful painting.

One of my favorite impressionist artists, Alfred Sisley, was also inspired by an allée of chestnut trees in this painting from 1878. Source.

This image, seen on Wikipedia, was taken in a park in Germany.

Many of the definitions of allée indicate that it is a very French concept. This image was taken at Chateau Margaux, France.

An allée of trees in the winter. I imagine that this view changes character every season, which is another thing I love about this design concept.

My post from last week, on a beautiful house in Atlanta, features a beautiful allée of oak trees. This is not the most common landscape feature in Atlanta, given that our topography is so hilly; a long straight path is really the best environment for this feature, in order to emphasize the sight lines. Photo credit: Brad Heppner.

As I was looking at the recent issue of Elle Decor (May 2010), I came across a charming article that showed some stunning garden paths throughout the world. One image from the Elle Decor article really caught me eye; it is quite sculptural and beautiful, and leads the eye straight to a pool. Unlike some of the other images in this post, this allée does not depend on trees that are hundreds of years old. I am not expert, but I see this type of cyprus tree planted quite frequently in places where height and quick growth are a requirement. Landscape design by Dominique Lafourcade.

A quick google search enabled me to put two and two together; Dominique Lafourcade is part of the design and architectural team behind Bruno and Alexandre Lafourcade Architecture, who have a unique specialty in the restoration of farmhouses, country manors, and castles in Europe. Visit their website for more beautiful examples of their work. This image was on their site; I think it is the same garden seen in the image above, with a view from the pool, through the allée of trees to the walkway and door of the house. The trees perfectly frame the view to the door from this vantage point; from the previous vantage point, the sphere perched on the edge of the pool is the distant feature (as well as the hills beyond).

Have you seen this landscape design feature where you live? Do you like its structure, or do you prefer for things to be looser and more natural in an outdoor setting? I definitely like the formality and visual beauty that an allée of trees gives to a space, and I particularly like it when a house is the visual reward at the end of the view.

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