Magnificent Majorelle

I know I'm supposed to be reviewing Florida gardens, but I have to say that I have been completely defeated by the heat here this week!  The gardens I'd like to see, photograph and write about are all several hours drive from each other and the light is so bright and the humidity so great in the searing heat that even my camera lens fogs up the moment I step out of the car!  So I'm going to review the wonderrful Marjorelle Gardens in Marrakech instead! The heat in Morocco will be much the same as here in June... in fact, even hotter, but I'm glad to say that I was there in March.

These gardens are small, but stunning and it's well worth getting there when they open at 8.00 a.m. to arrive ahead of the crowds and avoid the heat of the midday sun.  That said, on the two occasions I visited, I was outside the gates at opening time and nobody from the gardens showed up until 8.15 but it was low season in Marrakech!

The gardens were designed by a French painter, Jacques Majorelle who settled in Morocco in 1919. He laid the foundations for the gardens of today and painted in the studio there, which is now an Islamic museum. But after he died in a car crash the gardens were left untended until they were bought by fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent, who faithfully restored them with his partner, Pierre Berge.

Majorelle is stunning and houses a wonderful collection of cacti, bamboo, bougainvilleas and coconut palms, all set amidst dramatically painted blue pillars, ponds, raised walkways, and strategically-placed yellow and blue pots adding to the impression of absolute calm amid the bustling city.  There is no other colour like the Majorelle blue (right) and it will always stick in your mind!  So too will the incredible cactuses.

Other leafy oases to see in Marrakech are the Minara Gardens, the Palmerie and the newly-planted grounds at the La Mamounia Hotel.  I was amazed at how green this city is, and how magnificent its gardens are.