During our recent trip to Marrakech, we were fortunate to visit Villa Oasis, the private former home and gardens of Yves St. Laurent and his partner in life and business, Peter Bergé. It is surrounded by its public and well-known Jardin Marjorelle, named after the French painter and plant collector Jacques Majorelle who was the property’s original owner (born in 1886).
Cacti and palms are planted in a way that allows each plant to be seen – which was the original intent of its design.
There is a very rich history surrounding this property. Jacques Majorelle purchased 4 acres in 1923 and ultimately expanded the property to 10 acres in the 30s. He built an initial home on the property and then commissioned architect Paul Sinoir to design the villa that we can see today.
It turns out that Jacques Majorelle was a passionate amateur botanist and created – what was known in the day as – an exquisite garden around the villa. He spent over 40 years enriching the garden with plants he collected from all five continents. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the garden required more resources than he was able to support and in the mid-40s he was forced to open the doors to the public and charge an entrance fee. Due to health issues, he returned to France in 1962 and sadly passed away without an opportunity to return to his property in Marrakech.
In 1974, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent acquired the property, then known as Dar Es Saada. In 1980, when they learned that Jardin Majorelle was threatened by a real estate development project, they decided to purchase the adjacent garden to preserve it from ruin. The two restored the gardens which one can enjoy today.
Landscape designer Madison Cox provided some updates to the garden in 2000, including the addition of this octagonal structure. Note the Majorelle blue, which is everywhere through the garden.
Jardin Marjorelle is the most popular tourist attraction in all of Morocco, with nearly 850,000 visiting its beautiful grounds annually. I recommend seeing all of it – Villa Oasis (by appointment only and donation to the YSL-Bergé Foundation), the Jardin Majorelle, the Berber museum, and the YSL museum, complete with YSL’s beautifully designed clothes on display (couture gowns were there when we visited).
A private tour of the Villa Oasis home and gardens will conclude with a glass of orange juice, Moroccan mint tea and almond cookies. This property is absolute perfection.
