Majorelle Blue

Yves Saint Laurent might be in a sorry state himself (wallowing out his last days in a continual coke binge, or so rumor has it), but the Jardin Majorelle, which he bought and generously maintains for the public, is in top form. Since the garden is a regular stop on the tourist route, we go during the lunchtime exodus and find the garden delightfully quiet. It’s a piece of home in the heart of Marrakech. The plantings are the mirror of what we’d find in L.A., including copious pots of artichoke fern, bougainvillea, timber bamboo and lavender that we had growing in our own yard. The garden is small, but so rich with color, it’s like a precious sapphire polished and shining amidst all the dusty rose of Marrakech. The distinctive blue is a deep sapphire so recognizable that people refer to the shade as Majorelle Blue. Plant pots lining all the paths are painted in Majorelle Blue as well as celadon, canary yellow, aquamarine, periwinkle and the like. The effect is brash and beautiful. Samuel and I park ourselves on a bench and breath in the fragrant air and rest, watching the sunlight scamper through the leafy bamboo. As much as the place is an oasis in this arid city, let’s face it, in Beverly Hills, this garden would rate a B-list starlette, but I guess you could say we’re as celebrity focused as any Tatler-reading tourist, hunting down YSL’s digs.

We finish the day with dinner at Natalie’s apartment in Gueliz. After so much looking at homes in the Medina, it’s good to see an apartment that looks as if it could be in any metropolis – big, airy, clean and with walls and floors that stand at right angles. Natalie has also pulled off the most understated Moroccan décor we’ve seen. The evening chez elle was tres chouette.