La forêt géométrique

The Luxembourg garden is composed of three primary gardens. The first is the very formal French garden directly in line with the north-south axis of the palace. This is where the bassin and fountain are located. Along the western edge of the park are the English style gardens with their curves and more natural looking plantings. Between the two is the geometric forest, with trees planted in what's called a quinconce (quincunx) pattern, an alignment of groups of five laid out like the five side on a standard six-sided die.

A diagonal path through the geometric forest. Click to quincunxinate.

The result is a stunning array of trees that line up in every direction you look. Paths through the forest follow the alignments north and south, east and west, and diagonally. Not being a landscape architect, I didn't know this layout had a name nor that it is one of the standard patterns for orchards. I'm learning this as I go along. Ah, the wonders of the internet!