La Serre de la Madone - looks like the stairway less travelled to me.
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La Serre de la Madone - Il me semble que c'est l'escalier le moins fréquenté.
Monaco has a new Princess! Click on Monte Carlo Daily Photo to read more.
Let's leave the heat of the beach and wander up these shady steps at La Serre de la Madone, one of Menton's famous gardens.
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Laissons la chaleur de la plage et promenons nous le long de cet escalier ombragé de La Serre de la Madone, l'un des célèbres jardins de Menton.
This lady looks as if she is posing for a photograph, doesn't she? In fact she was in conversation with friends whilst waiting for an exhibition to open at the gardens of La Serre de La Madone.
This plant grows wild around here - it readily seeds in walls and gardens but you find it in Menton's famous gardens too - this was photographed at Serre de la Madone, so whilst it may be a weed, it's obviously appreciated by the professional gardeners there.
Another chance to see yesterday's lady with the fan. Today we are inside the villa of the Serre de la Madone.
The smaller photo is taken as a few people gathered early prior to the exhibition opening. Later, the place was packed out.
A special treat: the medieval village of Gorbio was honoured by a visit from Barbie the other day. To see - click on Barbie of the Day.
Before living here I used to think of a fan as something used in a theatre production or perhaps bought in a fairground. In Menton it's quite usual to see women fanning themselves on a warm evening.
This lady is listening to an artist welcoming us to the vernissage of his exhibition at the Serre de la Madone.
I wouldn't mind her cheekbones!
Agapanthus are everywhere in Menton at the moment. In the photo below you see them in the beautiful gardens of the Serre de la Madone. The close-ups - and going to seed - are in my garden in Gorbio.
This is a South African plant that is more than happy in the south of France. It's a member of the lily family, hence the common name of African Lily or Lily of the Nile.
A beautiful blue sky? Wrong! In fact the main photo is upside-down. You can see it correctly displayed in the small photo on the left. And below, of course, you see a reflection the way I took it - focusing on the water only.
We are in the gardens of the Serre de la Madone in Menton where visitors are enjoying the pool and taking photographs.
Everywhere you look in this Menton garden you find beauty.
(an extra post today to make up for the one I missed yesterday when I had no internet access. Grrrrrrr)
It's Sunday. Let's be kids - perhaps we still are regardless of our age. I hope so.
The garden of the Serre de la Madone in Menton recently ran a hands-on workshop to teach children the joys of gardening, hence the decorated rakes and the scarecrow that welcomed them.
First of the month and it's Theme Day in the City Daily Photo community. Subject: statues. Menton has many beautiful statues and here is a favourite of mine: Venus who stands in one of the beautiful pools at the garden of Serre de la Madone.
In 1907, Major Lawrence Johnston, an American born in Paris, started to create an outstanding garden at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire, England - incidentally, the first garden to be designated a National Trust garden. In 1924, he bought a large piece of land on the Route de Gorbio in Menton with the intention of creating a garden for sub-tropical plants. The result - Serre de la Madone with its fountains, pools, classical statuary, green garden rooms, a Moorish patio, orangeries for tender exotic plants and so on. Menton is famous for its beautiful gardens and this has to be one of the most beautiful.
Major Johnston travelled the world over a thirty-year period seeking plants he could acclimatise in his seven hectares of terraces at Serre de la Madone. He employed twelve gardeners and planted his prizes amongst the ancient olives. He died in 1958 at Serre de la Madone. After many years of neglect, the gardens have now been restored by the Conservatoire du Littoral who bought the garden in 1999 with the help of the Conseil Generale des Alpes-Martimes and other official organisations.
To see statues featured by other CDP bloggers from around the world please click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
The Serre de la Madone is one of Menton's most famous gardens. Created by Lawrence Johnston, an American who owned the famous Hidcote Garden in England, he needed a warmer climate for the sub-tropical plants he collected. His story is fascinating and so is the garden and we will be covering it on Menton Daily Photo soon.
This photo shows a passageway fairly near the entrance to the gardens on the Route de Gorbio.
To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted today's theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants
