Coming Up Roses
In the late 19th century, James Wyllie , a Scottish philanthropist, purchased 11 hectares of land at the tip of Cap d’Antibes. It was Wyllie who brought in the soil that was to create the foundations for the cultivation of roses. Soon after, the families Meilland, Leonetti, Astoux and Richardier shared the land and the Cap d’Antibes rose industry was born.
The Astoux family arrived in Cap d’Antibes in 1880 and have been here ever since. Initially a farmer in La Colle Sur Loup André Astouxs’ grandfather had been looking for an affordable piece of land where he could grow roses. He found exactly what he was looking for here in Cap d’Antibes and the rest , as they say, is history.
It’s hard to believe that this place was once cheap and considered undesirable. How times have changed!
Ironically these rose growing families, with the exception of the Meilland family, did not become rich from their work. They lived very simple lives and worked extremely hard all year round throughout their lives. Some have since aquired wealth from the sale of land which is now in high demand and extremely valuable.
At their peak the Astoux family gardens were home to 70,000 rose bushes however they stopped growing roses in 2000 after André retired aged 76. Sadly André Astoux, known as the ‘King of the roses’ passed away in 2015 so I never got to meet him which is a real shame.
It seems that André wasn’t particularly academic and struggled with his Baccalaureate so he began to help his father in the rose gardens. According to André himself (in an interview with Nice Matin) at the beginning he didn’t exactly throw himself into his work. Instead he spent most of his time with his friends, diving ,skiing, playing basketball and basically having fun.
After meeting Jeanne-Marie, getting married and starting a family his father handed over the reigns of the business to him. However the transition from his easy and carefree life to running the family business was an easy one. The job excited him and he found that he loved his work throwing himself into it 100%.
Jeanne-Marie tells me that the couple would get up every day at 5am picking roses twice a day and took just 14 days off each year.
Together they famously developed the system of direct sales to individuals which had not been done before. The Astouxs would sell to private individuals and business clients from their property on the Cap. As well as several celebrity clients the Astouxs supplied roses to many of the regions luxury hotels such as the Hotel du Cap, the Majestic and the Martinez in Cannes. Of course local people also came to buy roses from them.
Today much of the families land has been sold off to ensure the families retirement. Roses still adorn the house but they come from elsewhere.
Only one of the original greenhouses still remains in the family garden. Run down and neglected it remains for sentimental reasons I think. Jeanne- Marie plans to renovate it at some point but I hope she doesn’t as I love it just the way it is.
I met up with Jeanne-Marie recently to find out a little more about the family and their life in what is now a ‘Billionaires playground’ on the Cote d’Azur.
When did you first meet André?
I met André Astoux, when I was in my early twenties. At the time I was working and living in Paris.
In fact it was my sister who met him first. They were both skiing in the same ski resort and they met and became friends. My sister had invited him to Paris to visit us so one day he returned the invitation and my sister and I went to visit him on the Cote d’Azur and ‘Voila’ and the rest is history. To cut a long story, not long after that, we fell in love. We were married in Paris when I was 25 years old and straight after I quit my job and left Paris to start a new life with André in Cap d’Antibes.
The first time I saw Cap d’Antibes I loved it very much, it’s a beautiful area. When I first arrived there were greenhouses everywhere, they took up most of the land here actually.
From day one I began to work with André in the Rose gardens and we continued working together for 50 years until he retired in 2000. I learned his work very quickly and I loved his work very much.
We worked very hard all year round but we both loved it so it didn’t feel like work. At the end of the day we would spend time together as a family, going to the beach or out on our little boat. It was a fun time and I have many fond memories of those days.
We had three children, two sons who still live in the original family home where Andre grew up and my daughter who now lives in Arles. I live in the second house which Andrés’ parents built for us after we were married. Initially it only had one floor but as our family grew we added another level to give us more space.
When the children grew up my husband and I decided that we would travel somewhere new every year. We decided to put aside two weeks every November to take a trip. We weren’t wealthy people at all so we used to fund our trips by renting out our house while we were away. The rest of the year we worked every single day, seven days a week come rain or shine. When you work with nature there is always something to do, plants don’t stop growing at the weekend.
The first trip we took was in about 1970 to Guatemala, it was our first ever trip abroad. I lost 10 kilos during that vacation because we did so much, it was marvellous.
A few years ago I decided to choose one photograph from each voyage we took together and have it enlarged so I could put them on the wall. I think there are about twenty five images so, I guess, we must have visited twenty five places over the years.
I remember taking this particular photo in Italy. We were visiting a monastery there when I saw the monks running across the field. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a picture. I was amazed that it came out actually and that I managed to capture them before they disappeared inside. It turned out to be a great photo and I love it very much.
Another place we visited was Ladak. We were very very young at that time and we had very little money but my brother who was a big traveller said “You have to go to Ladak”. So, again ,we rented out the house and bought tickets to India. I really enjoyed that trip, we both did.
I remember taking this photograph very well. During our visit I noticed this little boy sitting opposite one of the monks and was so taken by the way they were looking at each other. I absolutely adore this photo. The little boy is so beautifull.
As on the first trip to Guatemala we both lost 5 kilos on this particular adventure. It was a very exhausting trip for us but also an amazing one. Back then there was nothing there and very few tourists so it was hard work just getting around the place. It was definately a challenge but completely worth it for the experience.
André and I went to many places during those years including Norway, Switzerland, Egypt, the Reunion islands, Italy, Turkey and Portugal. We also travelled to places in France, we didn’t always go abroad.
I asked Jeanne-Marie if she had any old photos she could show me. Luckily for me in her office there is an entire full height bookcase full of family photo Albums. We looked through a couple of them together and Jeanne-Marie picked out a few of her favourite photos for me.
This picture is of André in the greenhouses. The greenhouse in this photo is the last remaining one we have in the garden. It’s funny how small photos used to be compared to now. I so love the little black and white pictures we had back then. I don’t think people make photo albums like this anymore. Everything is stored on phones or computers, I think that’s a shame.
Here’s a picture of our house being built after we were married with the old olive tree in front. That’s me in the centre at the christening of my oldest son and next to me is Mario. Mario was a very good friend of Andrés and also the local carpenter. It was Mario who made all the window frames for this house. His workshop, which is still there today, was just by St Benoit church. Sadly Mario died several years ago but his sister Agnes still lives in the house.
Mario was a real character on the Cap, with a larger than life personality. Everyone knew Mario! He was also large physically. I remember he used to pick André up by his shirt like a little cat, it was very funny. You see my husband was the complete opposite of Mario, he was small and slight.
This is my favourite photo ever! It’s of me with my three children taken by André on one of our many trips to the mountains. We all loved going to the mountains together and this is probably one of my favourite memories of those years. The photo is very special for me.
I love it because I am with my children and because I love the mountains. It was a great time, with my children and with my husband. We tried to go to the mountains for a couple of weeks every year for the fresh air and the scenery. I think on this occassion we were staying in a home of some friends but often we would stay in a hotel. We used to go walking alot, the air was fresh and we had a lot of fun. They are some of my fondest memories which is why I adore this picture.
Since you are no longer in the Rose industry what do you love to do?
Since we stopped the rose business in 2000 I have had the time to re-discover my passion for literature and writing.
Nowadays I write small articles for local publications. I am also the president of the Universite du Savoir which is based in Antibes. As part of a small team we offer a programme of weekly courses. The courses run annually from October until the end of April. Over six months we cover many different subjects within the arts. It’s something which I love to be involved with and I meet many interesting people through my work there.
This year we are celebrating our 15th year which I am very proud of. The courses we run are open to anyone and everyone and take place every Tuesday from 18h. People can join us for one or two classes or sign up for the whole year, it’s up to them. It’s a nice way to learn and also a great way to meet new and like minded people. In addition to my involvement with the Universite de Savoir I also work at the library twice per week. I am kind of immersed in the world of books and the arts now which I enjoy very much. It certainly keeps me busy.
Although we don’t have any rose bushes now we do have a few fruit tress, mainly orange and lemon trees in the garden. With the lemons I like to make limonchello. It’s very easy to make. I go to Italy to buy the alcohol which I use to make it with. This year I used maybe 2 litres of Alcohol and ended up with six or seven bottles of Limonchello. Sometimes I make jam with the fruit but not that often. I prefer to make the Limonchello.
Another thing I do regularly is sing. Every week a few of us meet here in my home and we sing together. It’s just for pleasure really. We are by no means professionals but we have a lot of fun and maybe it keeps us young, who knows.
André Astouxs’ Rose pruners which now hang, in a frame, on Marie-Jeannes’ Office wall.
A photograph of André Astoux taken sometime before 2015 and behind a photo of the family.
Another photograph of André, this time with his good friend the director Marco Ferreri. Marco Ferreri famously directed La Grande Bouffe which was a very controversial film made in 1973 and which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year. The film centres on a group of friends who plan to eat themselves to death. It satirised consumerism and the decadence of the bourgeoisie and was therefore controversial upon its release. It has since become a cult film.
For information about the Université des Savoirs d’Antibes Juan-les-Pins click here
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