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alchemy, he hybridized N. Alba with yellow N. Mexicana to create the very first hardy waterlily that wasn’t white. In 1875, he re-founded the nursery, specifically dedicated to aquatic plants - waterlilies and lotuses. Working his magic on tropical and semi-tropical specimens from North America, Joseph would go on to create hardy waterlilies in every shade from pale yellow and pink, to ruby red and copper. In 1889, he sent 17 of his most beautiful specimens to Paris to compete in the Exposition Universelle. One case was lost on the train and had to be replaced. When it was discovered over a month later and sent back to the nursery, Joseph expected to find all the plants had died - instead they were still thriving. Waterlilies may look delicate, but they are as tough as weeds. The World’s Fair that changed Paris and art history It has been noted that only two major things have survived from the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle: the Eiffel Tower and Latour- Marliac’s waterlilies. Displayed in water gardens outside the Trocadèro, they took first prize in the flower competition. It was pure serendipity that Claude Monet was exhibiting in the Pavillon des Artistes next door to the Trocadèro. He was totally beguiled by the waterlilies. A year later he bought the house he’d been renting for seven years in Normandy (after spotting it from a train that ran along the bottom of the garden). In 1893 he bought land on the other side of the tracks to create a water garden. “I love water, but I also love flowers. That’s why, once the pond was filled, I thought about adorning it with plants. I got a catalogue and simply chose at random.” Monet ordered as many lotuses as waterlilies, but sadly they failed to thrive. Otherwise his Claude Monet - Water Lilies - Toledo Museum of Art - Google Art Project sublime Nymphéas – jewel of the Orangerie in Paris – might look very different, along with more than 250 other waterlily paintings that now feature in museums around the world. The small museum at Latour-Marliac displays some of Monet’s handwritten orders. Other clients included the king of Bulgaria, the Vatican and writer Leo Tolstoy, Villa Lou Patio The perfect base for exploring the French Riviera Pool – garden – 4 ensuite bedrooms Perfectly located, just minutes from St Paul de Vence Villaloupatio.com who ordered waterlilies for the ponds at his home, Yasnaya Polyana in Russia. Much of the nursery’s business came from Britain, led by the influential garden designer Gertrude Jekyll (whose name was borrowed by her friend Robert Louis Stevenson in his story about Mr Hyde). Latour-Marliac today After Joseph’s death, family members ran the nursery until 1991, when Ray and Barbara Davies of Stapeley Water Gardens in England took over and restored the gardens. Both have lilies named after them. Their efforts were rewarded in 2004 when Latour-Marliac was designated a Jardin Remarquable. Since 2007, the owner has been American Robert Sheldon. The gardens are open from 15 April through 15 October, but are at their most fragrant, full blooming finest, in summer. Highlights include Joseph’s elliptical pools, today containing the 42 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 43
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