Majorelle Garden

In 1947 a new garden was opened to the public in Marrakech - it was the result of much hard work by a French artist named Jacques Majorelle who painstakingly devoted his time and energy to landscaping a plot of land he had acquired. Since that day, the garden named after him, the Majorelle Garden, has seen thousands of visitors from all over the world pass through its doors to admire the beauty that lies within.

Not only is the garden a work of art in terms of the numerous cacti, succulents, herb gardens and tropical plants to be found here which hail from all over the world, but also by the extensive use by Majorelle of a beautiful cobalt blue colour which he has used to great effect in the buildings, paths and archways - and even in painting some of the pots. This colour has become known as bleu majorelle - Majorelle Blue. Now one can buy paint in this colour from one of the shops on Rue Majorelle which runs alongside the garden - and I have recently seen advertised that nail varnish too is being produced in this colour under the YSL brand!  (I must admit to being very fond of this colour, so it's no hardship to me to see it on sale everywhere I go, but I guess that may not be so for everybody!)

Jacques Majorelle sadly died in 1962 following a car accident and the gardens were allowed to fall into disarray. However, the Majorelle Garden was acquired subsequently by Yves Saint Laurent, the fashion designer, who set about transforming the garden back to its former glory and into making it the beautiful place it is today.

I haven't visited the gardens for quite a while, but armed with my new camera, I am visiting today, looking for the numerous photographic opportunities I know I can find here amongst the amazing displays of plants and foliage, interspersed with fountains and waterways. I am trying to capture something of the light, colour and textures surrounding me. In fact, I need say no more...I'll let my photos do the talking.....Hope you like them....

 

 

The memorial to YSL. His ashes are scattered within the garden.

Within the Majorelle Garden is a room dedicated to the artwork of Yves Saint Laurent. There are photographs here of all the various pieces of art which YSL produced, one per year, based on the theme of 'Love'. Here's a selection of them....

 

If you ever have the opportunity to visit this wonderful garden, don't forget to buy the combined ticket and gain entrance to the Berber Museum located in the grounds. It was actually the painting studio of Jacques Majorelle and re-opened in December 2011 to house the museum. Here you will see more than 600 objects from all around Morocco depicting the Berber culture, from the mountains to the desert. There are weapons, leather goods, carpets, items of fabulous jewellery, clothing and lots more besides. Be sure to pay a visit!