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LeNotre Stabilise mixture

brett6VXNZ8Qwbrett6VXNZ8Qw Posts: 2
in Garden design
Andre LeNotre, garden architect to Louis XIV, along with many aristocrats in seventeenth century France, developed a paving mixture called Stabilise. Stabilise is a pea gravel, sand and whitewash mixture that yields that great paving that is in the formal garden walkways at Versailles and throughout all of France.

The question is: what are the proper proportions of pea gravel, sand and whitewash that need to be combined to create the exact same spec as Versailles? Should the pea gravel be whitewashed first or does whitewash just get mixed into the whole pea gravel and sand mixture? Thanks!

Posts

  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Here's a link to a recipe (in French): https://www.gamma.be/fr/conseils-bricolage/a/preparer-du-stabilise
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited June 2021
    'Whitewash' is/was made from either slaked lime (Calcium Hydroxide) or chalk (Calcium Carbonate) mixed with water, so you could use either of those instead of the cement mentioned in the above recipe, if you want to stay closer to the original mix used back then.  Slaked lime is used to make lime mortar, so would produce a more solid path.  Using chalk may mean it would need compacting after laying if you want a hard wearing surface.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • brett6VXNZ8Qwbrett6VXNZ8Qw Posts: 2
    Thanks guys!!
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