A nine-hectare garden above Menton, Jardin Serre de la Madone, has received international recognition after being awarded one of four prizes, worth $27,000, given by the French Heritage Society at a ceremony in Paris on 5th February.Â
Michael Likierman, president of the Association pour la Sauvegarde des Jardins d’Exception du Mentonnais (ASJEM), the association overseeing the garden’s restoration, and Gilles Deparis, director of Menton’s exceptional gardens, attended the award ceremony, held at the French Senate.
About the garden
Jardin Serre de la Madone was created in 1924 by Lawrence Johnston, who also designed the celebrated garden at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire.
Drawn to Menton’s exceptional microclimate, Johnston gathered a remarkable collection of rare plants from expeditions across Africa, China and beyond, arranging them across terraced “garden rooms”.
Today, the garden holds more than 5,000 species from five continents, including three nationally recognised botanical collections, and has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1990.
In 2025 it was selected as the only garden among 18 regional sites for the Loto du Patrimoine, the national heritage lottery.
Major restoration under way
After falling into neglect following Johnston’s death in 1958, the garden was acquired by the Conservatoire du Littoral in 1999. Since 2022, restoration has been led by the ASJEM alongside the City of Menton under a co-management agreement signed in 2024.
The total restoration budget is €3.2 million, covering terracing, irrigation, historic glasshouses and sculptural elements.
The $27,000 French Heritage Society prize was secured through the Fondation MĂ©rimĂ©e, which supported the garden’s application and distributed nearly €700,000 to heritage projects across France in 2025.
The garden is also part of a UNESCO World Heritage bid covering the acclimatisation gardens of the French and Italian Riviera.
Visit and support
The garden is open to the public most of the year, with regular admission priced at €10. Those wishing to support the restoration can sponsor a lemon tree on the upper terraces or donate via the Fondation du Patrimoine’s online platform
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Main photo credit: Yann Monel