Jardin Majorelle: A Moroccan Garden

Dec 17, 2019
Smaller pond with squares of water lillies near koi pond

Jardin Majorelle is located in Marrakech, Morocco. It was originally created by Jacque Majorelle (1886-1962), a French Orientalist painter and son of the famous Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle. He was invited to Morocco in 1917 by a friend. In 1923 Majorelle moved there, purchasing a large palm grove from which he created the Jardin Majorelle.

In 1931 Mr. Majorelle commissioned the architect Paul Sinoir to build an Art Deco style artist's studio. Its walls were painted "Majorelle Blue," which is ubiquitous in Morocco. He designed a garden, a living work of art, with many exotic and unusual plant species.
 
The garden was opened to the public in 1947, but after his death in 1962, it was abandoned.
 
Fortunately in 1980 Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge, purchased Jardin Majorelle, saving it from real estate developers.  The ethnobotanist Abderrazak Benchaabane has preserved the 300 plant species from five continents that thrive in the garden. 
  
 
After Yves Saint Laurent passed away in 2008, the garden was placed in the non-profit Foundation Jardin Majorelle to ensure the ongoing maintenance of the property.
 
If Morocco intrigues you, consider taking a trip there. My tour was excellent.
 
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