Le Nôtre (1613-1700) can be said to have attained perfection in the art of French-style gardens, of which Vaux-le-Vicomte is an admirable example. Flower beds and box trees are laid out in arabesques called Turkish carpets, fountains play in the symmetrical low-lying ornamental pools, and a view over a carpet of green lined by regular copses of trees opens up in the axis of the château. The gardens have been so obviously planned with care that one derives almost an intellectual pleasure from contemplating them.