Green for French Orangerie Planter Boxes

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If you have ever admired orangerie planter boxes or the color prevalent on the boxes I will share a few of the shades and their hex colors.
The first color chip is Versailles green, (hex code #5b8f5f). The beautiful and popular orangerie at the chateau de Versailles was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1684 and 1686. The green is a classic green and would coordinate well with house or shed colors. 

The second shade of green is actually Benjamin Moore's Heritage paint collection, Bunker Hill green. 
The third swatch is green blue copper patina or verdigris, (hex code #599681). At one time the shutters on my house were painted with this green patina. 

Below are a collection of historic greens from Ball and Farrow.

Ball and Farrow

At a National Register of Historic Places Garden I admired a row of French orangerie planter boxes filled with heirloom dahlias. The boxes can be moved in and out of greenhouses, with a lot of effort, but it does protect plants during winter months from frost damage. 

Archivist and curators sometimes find it difficult to establish authentic historical colors. If you are like me, and after visiting the Orangerie or Tuileries garden in Paris and you would like to find a shade of green to remind you of a great memory to add to your own garden the swatches or tiles above might come close.

• You might also enjoy Versailles Andre L Norte

Sources:                                                                       

Kimball and Bean, Illinois

https://kimballandbean.com/

https://www.jardinierduroi.com/shop-versailles-planter-boxes

Further Research.                                            

• Buck, Susan L. Papers Presented at the Wooden Artifacts Group: Specialty Session, June 6, 1991, Aic Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Washington, D.C.: Wooden Artifacts Group, American Institute for Conservation, 1991. Print.
• Buck, Susan L. "Bedsteads Should Be Painted Green: Shaker Paints and Varnishes." Old-time New England. 73.260 (1995). Print.
• American Institute for Conservation. 
•  Kelleher, Katie, The Paris Review, Verd
  egris: The Color of Oxidation, Statues, and Impermanence

Hyden Photography

for

Grassroots Horticulture

Updated January 5. 2021

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