La Carmejane viewed from the village street
This beautiful hillside estate in the south of France has been featured in Veranda and Architectural Digest magazines. The property has been included in several of Louisa Jones' books about the gardens of Provence. This new article covers important historical information unearthed by the current owners, who have done extensive research about the early history of the castle complex. Fascinating!
One of the many of Louisa Jones' books that talks about the gardens of Provence featuring Villa La Carmejane.
Visiting the hilltop property of La Carmejane, one feels as one has gone though a time portal to a dimention where all worries do not exist. Modern-day France holds tremendous beauty inside its borders: within this beautiful country, the mediterranean-climate region of Provence is a stunning area, known worldwide for its charm; within Provence, the area of the Luberon Mountains, with its many scenic villages, is ravishing; and within the Luberon sits the medieval hilltop village of Ménerbes, designated one of the “Most Beautiful Villages of France.” Beauty within beauty within beauty. After exploring Ménerbes, with its spectacular views over the surrounding valleys, one might well think that beauty has revealed itself fully, but there is one more heart-stopping “doll” to be unveiled: the castle complex of La Carmejane.
Upper level parterre garden, view from the Maison des Amis
Development of the garden
La Carmejane was bought using a real estate transaction known as viager. Popular in France, the arrangement allows home owners to sell their property for an initial “down payment” followed by monthly payments for the life of the home owner, who remains in the home until death. Upon the death of the home owner, the buyer takes possession. The arrangement is starkly realistic: viager property listings in France typically include the age of the owner along with the price which may in some instances put a mark of the head of the owner, turning many of them into skeptic recluse cat people.
Private terrace, perfect for viewing sunsets with an apéro
Before they took possession of their new home, the owners had to deal with many stumbling blocks between them and the resident owners still living in the house. One incident, in particular, was of disastrous proportions. After a long dry spell, on May 12 1993 torrential rain soaked the earth of the central garden on the property’s upper level. The water dislodged a boulder below weighing over 1,000 tons. As the boulder fell away, the ramparts it was supporting collapsed. A third of the upper garden washed down the hillside! It took five years and a major engineering feat to repair the damage while retaining the traditional appearance of the wall.
Cafe table on the upper terrace above the parterre garden, perfect for breakfast and a newspaper
If there was a silver lining to the destruction, it was the opportunity to begin with a blank slate for the new upper- level garden. The couple first retained the services of Nicole de Vésian, a stylish woman who had worked in the Parisian design industry for most of her adult life. After moving to Provence in 1986, she began a second career as a garden designer – a tribute to her prodigious creativity and life energy. After designing her own garden masterpiece, La Louve, she was asked to design several other gardens in the region. Sadly, Nicole took ill before completing her work at La Carmejane. She passed away in 1996, a year before the new owners finally took possession. Though she did not get to work her magic on La Carmejane, her advice was invaluable: “Listen to the stones, and they will speak.”
Terrace seating with boxed topiaries
The new owners brought in a series of creative minds to help with the garden plan. English designers John Brookes and Tim Rees helped with initial ideas about what the garden might become, but it was the magical talent of a local Frenchman, interior designer Michel Biehn, that carried the day. Extraordinarily gifted, Michel was already helping the owners with the interior of the home and, at their request, stepped into the role of garden designer, bringing his talents to the challenging hillside. Working alongside the owners, nurseryman Jean-Claude Appy, plant sculptor and de Vésian protégé Marc Nucera, and mason Max Ellena, Michel transformed La Carmejane into a series of beautiful garden spaces. The various garden “rooms” tucked into the hillside are simple in their impact, never fussy. The ancient history of the site is respected, yet the garden design feels fresh.
A walk through the garden today
One enters from the village street through a lovely old wooden gate with rusted iron hardware: the unveiling begins as an inner courtyard, paved in brick and stone, greets the visitor. Tall columns of Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and antique Anduze pots holding topiary balls of boxwood (Buxus) serve as focal points. A small walkway edged in boxwood leads to a balcony over the village street, with seating ideal for sunset views. The main path leads to the front door or, continuing further, towards the cliff-side parterre garden with its marvellous views over the Calavon Plain.
Swimming pool on the lower hillside
The parterre garden is perfection: its lines and scale define the space in such a way that it would be difficult to imagine a better layout. The white Iceberg roses and, in autumn, the white blooms of Japanese anemone (Anemone × hybrida) coolly and calmly soften the boxwood beds, adding floral interest without distracting from the main show: the incredible view across the Calavon Plain all the way to Mount Ventoux.
Calavon Plain all the way to Mount Ventoux
It was initially quite difficult to reach the lower levels of the hillside complex. There were no connecting stairs; to reach the pool, it was necessary to exit the property on to the village street, circle below the church, exit the old medieval fortified section of the village, and re-enter the property through a small wooden doorway. By “listening to the stones,” a passageway to the lower level was eventually discovered by Cédric Lafaye, the gardener. Rappelling down the rampart wall to prune the ivy, he discovered an old archway in the stonework. The owners realised that the stones had indeed spoken and had revealed the ideal place to build a stairway. The arch was reopened and a stone tower with spiral stairs was built to connect the two levels of the garden, eliminating the inconvenient walk. The tower was carefully constructed to look as though it had always been part of the castle complex.
The lower levels are less formal than the upper garden, but they have a loose rhythm to their layout. One walks easily through hillside rooms, connected by pathways and stone steps. The pool area, with its ancient grotto used as a secret gathering place for spiritual cults (circa 6th or 7th century), is laid out somewhat formally; beyond, one is free to meander and discover the hillside levels as they unfold. The large boulder, split in two by its fall from the ramparts, lies just beyond the swimming pool in sculptural repose. A small circular water feature nestles above the massive stones and empties into a runnel between them.
The lower garden is a fantasy land for adults and children alike. Newly planted olive trees grace the hillside, as does a two-hundred-year-old cherry orchard. There are numerous spots to have a picnic lunch, sit and read a book, or lie in a hammock suspended from a cherry tree. A large cobblestone oval of wild thyme kept low, with a fossilised ammonite at its centre, provides a meditative spot. A small gazebo with red and white striped curtains provides a place for intimate conversation or, when numerous family members are present, a focal spot for gatherings. There is a potager used by the owner and her staff for vegetables and cut- flowers. There is even an area for playing pétanque, a French lawn game that has evolved from ancient Roman traditions.
From its setting in the relaxed sophistication of the village, to the warm formality of the upper level garden and castle, to the meandering paths and rooms of the lower hillside, La Carmejane has become a well-loved and beautifully restored home. In a mutual stroke of luck, the village gained a wonderful expatriate family, committed to learning the mysteries of the castle and bringing it back to life, while the owners were presented with an opportunity to create a deeply soulful residence in which to live out their “third act” happily.
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