JARDIN DES PARFUMS
THE GARDEN AT THE CHÂTEAU DE LA COLLE NOIRE HONOURS CHRISTIAN DIOR’S LOVE OF FLOWERS AND FRAGRANCE
Christian Dior’s garden at the Château de La Colle Noire
“THE IDEA WAS TO RECREATE LA COLLE NOIRE AS A PRECIOUS GARDEN, WITH A REALLY CHIC COMPOSITION THAT WOULD BE A REFLECTION OF CHRISTIAN DIOR”
PHILIPPE DELIAU, landscape designer
Drawn by the warmth of the Provençal sun and the prospect of creating a garden filled with his favourite flowers, Christian Dior bought the Château de La Colle Noire in 1951, just six years before his untimely death. His ambition was to grow scented flowers there for his new range of fragrances, which were being produced just a few miles away in Grasse, the perfume capital of France.
Dior’s garden also evoked early memories of his home in Granville, Normandy, which he said returned him ‘in a different climate, to the enclosed garden that protected my childhood’. The beds he designed were full of scented species, including the May rose (Rosa x centifolia), used to make the rose oil in many Dior perfumes, lavender, lily-of-thevalley and lemon verbena, to name a few. He also planted roses on a larger scale on the land beyond the garden, with help from his sister Catherine (said to be the inspiration for Miss Dior), a master rose grower who owned a perfume farm nearby.
Following Dior’s death, the property changed hands a couple of times before the House of Dior acquired it in 2013. Since then, La Colle Noire has been fully restored inside and out. Award-winning French landscape designer Philippe Deliau was tasked with maintaining the historical significance of the site, while fine-tuning planting that no longer worked, such as the cypress allée that leads to the Château. Philippe says, ‘When they were planted in 1956, the cypress trees were three metres tall and Christian Dior surrounded them with cherry laurel. We needed to keep the trees, but to clear them a little as they had grown to 10 metres. So we removed the cherry laurel, which made the trunks visible and emphasised the silhouette of these emblematic trees.’
Philippe selected many of the plants in the garden with the help of perfumer François Demachy, the creator of Dior’s fragrances, and expert grower Armelle Janody, who looks after the roses at La Colle Noire. Philippe says, ‘We’ve recreated a beautiful rose collection, taking inspiration not only from those here at the Château, but also from the rose garden created by Christian Dior’s mother at the Villa Les Rhumbs in Granville, as well as fragrant roses in pastel colours, such as ‘Blanc Double de Coubert’.’
Philippe has also used Christian Dior’s favourite plant, lily-of-the-valley, in the shade of the Southern terrace, and woven Madonna lilies and irises between the olive trees, which the designer originally grew to make his own oil. More olive trees have been added to those planted by Dior, as well as apricot, persimmon and cherry trees, which he also loved.
For structure, Philippe has defined the main border with low box hedges and created smaller enclaves leading off it, in the style of a botanical garden. The flowerbeds face the reflective pool that Christian Dior installed to fill the garden with light. The estate was originally over 50 hectares and included fields of roses and olive trees beyond the garden, but the House of Dior now owns just five hectares. However, the company has forged partnerships with landowners of the surrounding estates that now grow roses for its perfumes, including the eponymous La Colle Noire.
‘By thinking beyond the physical limits of the Château,’ Philippe says, ‘we are trying to enhance the surrounding landscape and restore its former aesthetic.’ Today, the terraces offer views across the garden to the rose fields beyond that Christian Dior would have enjoyed, and his dream to grow Dior roses for Dior perfumes has become a reality once more.
The House of Dior Château de La Colle Noire garden hosts occasional days when the public are invited to visit. Go to lvmh.com and search for Journées Particulières for details