A friend on Insta posted a photo of the memorial stele to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in the Majorelle Garden, not far from their villa Oasis in Marrakech, and I noticed the plaque: I remember it used to say simply "In memoriam Yves Saint Laurent"

A friend on Insta posted a photo of the memorial stele to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in the Majorelle Garden, not far from their villa Oasis in Marrakech, and I noticed the plaque: I remember it used to say simply "In memoriam Yves Saint Laurent", at least on my previous visit, and a search online turns up mostly old snaps; now Pierre Bergé's name has been added. But this is not a resting place, it is strictly a memorial stele. Both men were cremated, and their ashes were scattered in this very garden, an allusion to paradise.

In 1980 the celebrated garden of the painter Jacques Majorelle was abandoned, the buildings were in decay, the house had grown shabby, the plantings had run wild, and the flowerbeds had turned into sorry thickets. Nevertheless, the collection of exotic plants gathered here from all over the world had survived, though much had perished, and was ripe for restoration. So Saint Laurent bought not a hopeless piece of real estate but a neglected oasis with a marvellous, if dilapidated, building: there was a great deal of work, but also something to restore. Years of life, money, effort and love returned their former radiance to this palace-and-garden monument, and today the "Majorelle Garden" continues to draw lovers of beauty, connoisseurs of art and nature, and seekers of pretty photographs. The garden itself is considered one of the largest collections of rare flora in the world