Jardin Serre de la Madone
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The Jardin Serre de la Madone (6 hectares), often simply known as the Serre de la Madone (Hill of the Madonna), is a garden notable for its design and rare plantings. It is located at 74, Route de Gorbio, Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is open to the public (every day except Monday) during the warm months of the year. It is presently (2008) being restored to its former condition.
The garden was created in 1924-1939 by Lawrence Johnston, creator of the celebrated Hidcote Manor Garden (1907), on a hillside in the Gorbio Valley with farmhouse to which Johnston added two large wings. Johnston traveled the world collecting plants, and Serre de la Madone offered an excellent site for plants from subtropical regions. Over the years he created a series of terraces among old olive trees, planted and tended by twelve gardeners. After Johnston's death in 1958, subsequent owners maintained it with varying degrees of respect for the original plantings. In 1999 the property was purchased by the nonprofit Conservatoire du Littoral, which is currently restoring it to Johnson's design.
Today the garden contains an excellent collection of unusual subtropical plants centered around a double pool, and rising in terraces. As at Hidcote, Johnson used hedges and low walls to divide the garden into discrete areas. Notable plant specimens include a superb Mahonia siamensis and Arbutus unedo, umbrella pines, Buddleja officinalis, Rosa chinensis, and bamboo, as well as good collections of cycads and succulents from around the world.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Serre de la Madone
- Louisa Jones, Serre de la Madone, 2002. ISBN 2-7427-3772-3.
- French Gardening description
- Garden Visit description
- Fondation Veolia description
