Secrets of Southwest France: Monet's Water Lilies
Claude Monet's garden at Giverny is one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, but it would not exist without the great nursery of Latour-Marliac in Southwest France. Latour-Marliac is the origin of Giverny's iconic water lilies and Monet's epic La Nymphéas paintings. Latour-Marliac is a superb horticultural garden now open to the public in the village of Le Temple-sur-Lot and is one of the hidden pleasures of old Aquitaine.
The nursery was founded in 1875 by Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac for the commercial cultivation of water lilies. An expert botanist he successfully hybridized the European white water lily with wild varieties from around the world. Eventually he created a collection of water lilies that had a palette range from yellow, fuchsia to deep red. Monet saw these plants for the first time at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris where they were unveiled along with the Eiffel Tower. Monet's first order is on display at the nursery museum. Latour-Marliac's water lilies were also championed by the great English gardener Gertrude Jekyll and are grown in gardens all over the world.
The Latour-Marliac gardens today feature many acres of water lilies both hardy and tropical, as well as dream-like lotus pools, oriental gardens with a koi pond, rose gardens and bamboo forests (Latour-Marliac was also an expert in bamboo cultivation with many exotic species). The Café Marliacea offers lunch and dinner among the tropical water lilies. You must try the lotus tea! The Latour-Marliac Nursery is quite easy to find, just outside Villeneuve-sur-Lot, about 50 kilometres from Bergerac and is well worth a visit if you're staying in the area.