Serre de la Madone garden

A few kilometres from the coast, in the Madone district, on the road to Gorbio, in a very hilly area and on the slope of a real ridge - a greenhouse - Lawrence Johnston, American, British citizen and French at heart, chose to make his home and create a garden where he could install the rarest plants that he would bring back from the end of the world.

A cypress-lined road leads to the property. Along this access ramp, one discovers magnificent species that make the originality and quality of this garden: the Himalayan tropical oak, whose leaf has nothing to do with an oak leaf, the two immense Podocarpus trees with their fine sickle-shaped leaves and thick shade, the two Washingtonia filifera trees, the large Magnolia delavayi from Yunnan and finally the exceptional Nolina from Mexico. Entering this timeless place, cut off from the hustle and bustle of the city, the fragrances that emanate from the garden, the birdsong, the majesty of the large plants, awaken our senses.

Crowning the landscaped garden, the ochre bastide has retained all its charm. The residence opens onto the circular belvedere with its wisteria roof and the mandarin courtyard with its calade. These places still keep the memory of the sumptuous receptions that Johnston gave there.
Classified as a Historic Monument in 1990, it is the property of the Conservatoire du Littoral and is managed by the town of Menton.