Le Jardin Majorelle, Morocco

Visiting the exotic Le Jardin Majorelle leaves an indelible impression on all the senses. From a hot, sunlit street in bustling Marrakech, a simple doorway set in a high wall transports you to an oasis – a world of bubbling fountains, luxuriant growth and vibrant colours. Created over four decades from 1923 by French painter Jacques Majorelle, this one-hectare garden is also the work of designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge, who bought it in 1980 and lovingly restored it.

The signature cobalt blue (now called Majorelle blue) that the artist used to paint his studio is also on garden edges, fountains and pillars. More colour comes from the large pots painted intense yellow, ochre or green, while concrete paths are earthy red.

Majorelle was an obsessive plant collector who sponsored plant-hunting expeditions to fill his garden with cacti, succulents, bamboo and palms from five continents. As well as botanical rarity, he chose plants for their architectural and sculptural form. Flowering plants are also used to great effect, such as cascades of vibrant bougainvillea and waterlilies floating in ponds. Water is an essential element, with long rills linking to a square pool in front of the studio.

Majorelle’s studio now houses the Museum of Berber Arts, displaying Yves and Pierre’s collection of carpets, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and other treasures. In 2018, the extensive gardens around Villa Oasis, the main residence where the couple lived very privately, were opened for the first time. Accessed by a bougainvillea-draped path, these gardens are of similar size, but more sumptuous, with green-tiled water features and a pyramid-roofed pavilion. After Yves died in 2008, his ashes were scattered in the garden.

Pierre secured the property’s future by setting up a foundation, which reinvests profits into Moroccan cultural, social and educational projects.

WHERE
Le Jardin Majorelle, Rue Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakech, Morocco
GETTING THERE
It’s a short taxi ride or 30-minute walk from the Medina. The hop-on-hop-off tourist bus also stops there.
GOOD TO KNOW
The garden is open every day from 8am–6.30pm and is fully accessible. Tickets are sold online only for defined time slots. Book well ahead to ensure entry when you want it – early or late in the day are recommended. There’s a small cafe and a gift shop selling products handmade by Moroccan artisans. Just down the street is the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. Tickets are 165 dirham for the garden, 220 dirham for the garden and the Berber Museum, and 325 dirham for the garden and two museums (1 dirham is equal to about 15c at time of writing).

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Header image by Alamy