The Majorelle Garden in Marrakesh is a small gem in the variegated variety of oriental flavor. Despite its modest size compared to the famous parks of the same Europe, more than six hundred thousand tourists come here every year to admire the unique charm of mixing the two cultures.
Its creator is the famous French artist and enthusiastic botanist Jacques Majorelle. In 1919, doctors diagnosed him with a common diagnosis at that time - severe tuberculosis. The forecasts were disappointing - Majorelle had to live a maximum of one and a half years. But the artist was not determined to die, and in the same year left France, replacing the capricious European climate with the hot air of Morocco. He acquired a small piece of land in Marrakech and set about building a garden. As a passionate collector of plants, he gathered on the territory of about a hectare a rich collection of seedlings from all over the world. Majorelle was not limited to gardening and a small bright blue manor house, swimming pools with goldfish appeared on the site, he also created a variety of architectural forms in traditionally bright Moroccan colors. The dry climate benefited the artist and he lived here for almost forty years. All this time, Majorelle painted paintings with views of the beloved Morocco. In his canvases, he continued to use unusually bright shades, which in the future will call him the corporate color “majorelle”.
After the death of Majorelle, his estate and garden were bought by the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. He sought inspiration for his new collections and came to Morocco for a local atmosphere that could breathe life and creativity into anyone. During his stay in Marrakech, Yves Saint Laurent restored the estate and restored the garden to its former splendor. The collection of plants was supplemented by 350 species of cacti, ferns from Oceania and Latin America, bamboo groves and slender avenues of palm trees. After death, Yves Saint Laurent bequeathed to bury him in a secluded corner of his beloved garden. Now here you can find a modest memorial of the great French couturier.
Since 1946, the garden has never been closed to visitors. The garden is divided into several territorial zones. On the right side is the tropic zone with southern plants and a large number of ponds that maintain the necessary humidity. On the left side is a desert area with traditional Moroccan plants and shrubs.