Serre de la Madone (6 hectares) is a garden in France notable for its design and rare plantings. It is located at 74, Route de Gorbio,

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is open to the public (every day except Monday) during the warm months of the year. In 2008, it was being restored to its former condition. The garden was created in 1924–1939 by Lawrence Johnston, who had earlier created in Britain the celebrated

Hidcote Manor Garden Hidcote Manor Garden is a garden in the United Kingdom, located at the village of Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. It is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "g ...

(1907). It lies on a hillside in the Gorbio valley, with a 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 The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

trees, planted and tended by twelve gardeners. After Johnston's death in 1958 owners maintained it with varying degrees of respect for the original plantings. In 1999 the property was purchased by the non-profit

Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on ...

, who began restoring it to Johnson's design. Today the garden contains a collection of unusual subtropical plants centered on 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 ''Mahonia'' is a genus of approximately 70 species of evergreen shrubs and, rarely, small trees in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalaya, North and Central America. They are closely related to the genus ''Berberis'' and ...

'' and ''

Arbutus unedo ''Arbutus unedo'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry — hence the common name ...

'',

umbrella pine ''Sciadopitys verticillata'', the or Japanese umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. It is the sole living member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus '' Sciadopitys'', a living fossil with no close relatives. The oldest fos ...

s, ''

Buddleja officinalis ''Buddleja officinalis'' is a deciduous early-spring flowering shrub native to west Hubei, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces in China.Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (1989). ''Shrubs''. Pan Books, London. Discovered in 1875 by Pavel Piasetski,Bryce, W. J. (2 ...

'', ''

Rosa chinensis ''Rosa chinensis'' (), known commonly as the China rose, Chinese rose, or Bengal rose, is a member of the genus ''Rosa'' native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The first publication of ''Rosa chinensis'' was in 1768 b ...

'', and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

, as well as good collections of

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

s and

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

s from around the world.

External links

Serre de la Madone

Garden Visit description

Fondation Veolia description
{{Coord, 43.7755, 7.4755, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Serre de la Madone Serre de la Madone

See also

Further reading

External links