In the fall of 2006, during an annual garden visit event of the Mediterranean Garden Society (MGS), author Louisa Jones arranged for us to visit a garden designed by Michel Semini (1948-2021) for the in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence residence of Pierre Vital Georges Bergé (1930-2017) and his partner (business and personal), the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008).
Many of the attendees of this 2006 MGS event said this was one of the favorite gardens! I understood their praise. The garden was divided into many ‘rooms’ each with slightly different treatments, paving, accents, so there was a lot of inspiration. But overall, it was also quite human scaled and approachable. A common statement was something like “I’d have a hard time deciding in what section of the garden I might enjoy my morning coffee!” Most people could see themselves enjoying this garden in moments alone or with numerous friends.
Each area seemed simple but there were various details that elevated the setting’s elegance. Many points of egress and ‘lines of sight’ between the different sections drew you further into the experience. We all wandered around with smiling faces. It was a rare treat to find a garden that appealed to a group of such diverse gardeners.
Being designers ourselves, my wife and I appreciated some of the additional non-horticultural items. My wife’s textile background meant she was well-acquainted with Yves Saint Laurent’s work, so it was interesting to her to see some of those sensibilities turned towards a garden.
As we wound up our visit to this lovely garden, we had a chance to personally thank the person in charge of garden maintenance. He was ecstatic to have a large group visit the garden. “It isn’t often that so many people come to see my work! The owners have many houses and don’t come here often.”
Recently, I happened to come upon a Marie Claire mention of this garden:
“Gardens are a very important part of my existence, they have always been with me.” So stated Pierre Bergé in the interview dedicated to his Parisian Eden, published in the February 2017 issue of Marie Claire Maison. But it was in his home in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence … that the famous philanthropist entrepreneur said goodbye to his life
La casa con giardino di Pierre Bergé a Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, by Gaetano, 08/11/2017
I am not surprised that toward the end of his life, M Bergé sold off various homes around the world and retired to his home in St Remy. It would have been a tranquil place to reside in comfort and simplicity. I was so glad that we had the chance to visit this special place.
St Remy Sidebar
The garden property is named Mas Hugo for Vincent Van Gogh’s long suffering brother who supported him during his life. An adjacent house is named Mas Vincent. This is in reference to the famous and beautiful Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, ½ mile (800m) from the garden, which is a former Romanesque monastery turned insane asylum where Van Gogh voluntarily committed himself from 1889-1890. Today, Saint-Paul is still a psychiatric health institution but contains a small museum of the famous painter, including a recreation of his cell.
St Remy is also famous as the birthplace of the famous physician, a poet, a royal astrologer, Nostradamus (1503-1566).
The name St Remy honors one of the most famous French Saints, St Remigius de Reims (437-533), a layman who was chosen to become an Archbishop of Reims (qualifications were apparently more lax in the Middle Ages). His famous baptism of Clovis I, the King of the Franks, is considered why France became a Catholic country. A popular name for places and things in France, the official name for the town is qualified as Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
There is the ancient Roman ruin of Glanum just south of St Remy which is a popular tourist destination. Glanum was built upon an earlier Celtic-Ligurian spiritual site called Glanics.
References and Links
(* Information retrieval date for the URL mentioned)
The Cut : Yves Saint Laurent Co-Founder Pierre Bergé Dies at 86, Sarah Spellings, 9/08/2017
https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/yves-saint-laurent-co-founder-pierre-berg-dies-at-86.html (*November 2017)
Antique French Living : Spring Fever and the South of France, March 2008
http://antiquefrenchliving.blogspot.com/2008/03/spring-fever-and-south-of-france.html (*January 2018)
La casa con giardino di Pierre Bergé a Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Di Gaetano Zoccali, 08/11/2017
https://www.marieclaire.it/casa/giardini/g19491511/casa-parco-pierre-berge-saint-remy-de-provence/ (*December 2017)
Saint-Remy-de-Provence au Moyen Âge, M Deloche, Mémoires de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, 34:1re partie, 1892
http://docnum.univ-lorraine.fr/pulsar/RCR_543952103_Z4042.pdf (*December 2017)
Provence & Beyond : Nostradamus
https://www.beyond.fr/people/nostradamus.html (*January 2018)
Provence & Beyond: Glanum
https://www.beyond.fr/sites/glanum.html (*January 2018)
gardening in mediterranean climates worldwide 