William Waterfield, plantsman who created a famous garden in the South of France – obituary
The Telegraph hailed him as ‘unquestionably the figure to whom all who toil seriously at their craft turn for counsel’
25 January 2021 • 3:56pm
Waterfield: a keen botanist from childhood, he brought horticultural expertise and hard work to Le Clos du Peyronnet at Menton
William Waterfield, who has died aged 78, was one of the last of a succession of British gardeners distinguished for their skill and expertise on the French Riviera.
The list includes Lady Aberconway (1854-1933) at the Château de la Garoupe on Cap d’Antibes; Harold Peto (also 1854-1933) at the Villas Sylvia, Maryland and Rosemary on Cap Ferrat, as well as at Isola Bella in Cannes; and Lawrence Johnston (1871-1958), the designer not only of the garden at Hidcote in Gloucestershire, but also that at Serre de la Madone in Menton.