CÔTE D’AZUR
Emma Crawforth, Horticultural Editor
Garden visits were the highlight of my trip last April to the Côte d’Azur, in the south of France. All the gardens were amazing, but one stood out for me – Le Jardin Serre de la Madone, in Menton. This terraced garden was carved into old farmland by Lawrence Johnston in the 1920s. Already the heir to Hidcote Manor in the Cotswolds, Johnston had been so seriously injured in World War One that he’d been left for dead. He spent all his winters in Menton, and summers at Hidcote, until World War Two. At Serre de la Madone, religious symbolism mixes with exotic plants from all over the world. Statuary, steps and pools frame the vegetation in a romantic but poignant landscape. I was entranced by its atmosphere and intrigued by the idea that plants were exchanged between here and Hidcote.
Also in Menton, the botanic garden Val Rahmeh provides a modern contrast and is managed by France’s National Museum of Natural History. It features unusual plants arranged creatively and labelled, plus an optional audio tour. Checking the plant names prepares you well for visiting other gardens in the region, where you won’t get thisnestled on a hillside near Grasse is La Mouissone, an olive farm and garden where the English owner, Lady Lockett, gave me a tour with a fascinating chat about the local gardening community.
