🎙️PODCAST Scopri i segreti della serra di Giuseppina Bonaparte a Malmaison

📝Discover the secrets of Josephine Bonaparte's greenhouse at Malmaison: an enchanted journey through time!

Ci immergiamo in un mondo incantato?

Ciao, sono Dana Frigerio di Blossomzine ed eccomi tornata con un’esperienza cinematografica che ha scatenato la mia fantasia!

Ho visto il nuovo film di Ridley Scott su Napoleone, una vera chicca per gli amanti dei film. Ma sapete una cosa? Le riprese non sono state fatte in Francia, bensì in Inghilterra e a Malta.

Stranamente, non ho potuto ammirare la serra nel castello di Malmaison durante le scene, ma questo mi ha ispirato a fare qualcosa di speciale.

Quanto mi piace giocare con la mia immaginazione, ed ora vi mostro le immagini che ho creato con l’intelligenza artificiale.

Spero che questo articolo podcast con le immagini vi sia piaciuto, e se vi piace questa idea di viaggiare nel passato il prossimo sarà su Emily Dickinson.

PODCAST QUI SOTTO

E non ultimo iscrivetevi e lasciate un commento, ciao Dana

---

Discover the secrets of Josephine Bonaparte's greenhouse at Malmaison: an enchanted journey through time!

Do we dive into an enchanted world? 

Hello, I’m Dana Frigerio of Blossomzine, and I’m back with a cinematic experience that has sparked my imagination! I watched Ridley Scott's new film about Napoleon, a real treat for movie lovers.

But you know what? The filming didn’t take place in France but in England and Malta.

Strangely, I couldn’t admire the greenhouse at Malmaison Castle during the scenes, but this inspired me to create something special. 

As a set designer and garden designer, I decided to create an imaginary journey through the doors of a secret garden—or rather, a wonderful 19th-century greenhouse. Although the original greenhouse no longer exists, I let myself be carried away by AI to bring images filled with love and passion to life. I’ve always loved fantasizing, dreaming, and traveling, and today I’m happy to share this journey with you. 

Let’s start from the beginning: who was Josephine Bonaparte? 

Josephine Bonaparte, known for her love of botany and gardening, shaped the garden at Malmaison into a living work of art, reflecting her identity and the political ambitions of the French Empire. Born Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, she was Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife. The couple married in 1796 and divorced in 1809. 

Josephine, passionate about gardening, significantly contributed to the design of the Malmaison garden and played a crucial role in acquiring exotic plants through correspondence networks with gardeners and naturalists. 

The Villa Malmaison

This country residence near Paris was a gift from Napoleon to Josephine in 1799. It was a place of great historical and cultural significance. Josephine’s love for botany shaped the garden into a hybrid space blending exotic and native species, creating an environment that transcended mere aesthetics. 

She created an English-style garden, introducing a variety of exotic plants and rare flowers, many sourced from botanical expeditions sponsored by Napoleon himself. The Malmaison garden became famous for its beauty and botanical variety. Josephine linked her passion for plants with Napoleon’s military victories, planting trees to commemorate triumphs. 

The Park

The surrounding park contained follies, pavilions, and greenhouses filled with plant specimens and exotic animals from around the world. Josephine was associated with her black swans with red beaks from Australia, the rarest animals in her menagerie. Later, the swan would become an emblem of the Empress, appearing on furniture, engravings, and embroidery. 

After purchasing Malmaison, Josephine hired various garden designers before settling on the project by Louis-Martin Berthault. The garden was organized with winding paths, an artificial river, and a greenhouse. It reflected picturesque influences and was conceived as a harmonized space intertwined like a sugarcane plantation. 

The Greenhouse

Josephine’s greenhouses featured palms, bananas, lemons, and Seville oranges. Between 1803 and 1805, she built the Château de la Petite Malmaison, a structure with a reception pavilion connected to a greenhouse. Though the pavilion no longer exists, it was undoubtedly a precursor to the glass and steel structures of the 19th century. 

The greenhouse was a centerpiece of the garden and designed to house exotic plants. Josephine used it to demonstrate her skill in acclimating new species, heating it with coal stoves. 

Plants cultivated at Malmaison, mentioned in books, included:

- Rhododendron sp., introduced in France at Malmaison for the first time. 

- Eucalyptus sp., one of the species introduced under Josephine’s care. 

- Hibiscus sp., another plant noted as part of the collection. 

- Phlox sp. 

- Catalpa sp. 

- Camellia sp. 

- Myrtus sp.

- Pelargonium sp. 

- Cactaceae, other exotic plants acclimated by Josephine. 

- Dahlia sp. 

- Magnolia sp. 

In conclusion:

I recommend watching the film Napoleon—I must say, it was spectacular! The movie follows the incredible story of Napoleon Bonaparte, with a special focus on his love story with Josephine. It was an emotional journey into the past, and I can’t stop thinking about it! 

I love playing with my imagination, and now I’m showing you the images I created with artificial intelligence. 

I hope you enjoyed this article and the images. If you like the idea of traveling into the past, the next journey will be about Emily Dickinson. 

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment. 

---