New illustrated book by Marianne Majerus about garden beauty

When the garden and nature photographer Marianne Majerus talks about her favorite season, it quickly becomes clear: spring has a special place in her heart. « It’s like a miracle when the buds suddenly break up and the onions push through the earth – there is an overwhelming energy of becoming and the transformation. » This deep fascination for the blossoming of nature has accompanied the native of Luxembourg since childhood. She was shaped by her father, who showed her the little miracles of the fauna on a walks together, and by her mother and grandmother, who gave her the love of gardening.

Majerus feels particularly connected to her grandmother Marie Guill, who was a passionate gardener and photographer. In her new illustrated book « Garden Photography: The Art of the Ephemeral », published by Éditions Guy Binsfeld, tells her about this connection and invites readers to a very personal journey through gardens in all its facets.

A garden of memory

Although she could never get to know her grandmother personally, her garden on the Moselle remained a deeply rooted place of memory for Marianne Majerus. There she met many plants for the first time; Plants that would later come to her lens as a professional garden photographer. Today it is one of the world’s most renowned garden photographers. With her camera, she not only documents the botanical treasures of Europe, but has also developed an unmistakable style that combines nature, time and emotion in poetic pictures.

« Garden Photography: The Art of the Ephemeral » is therefore an invitation to immerse yourself in the variety of European gardens, in different seasons, moods and forms of design. For Majerus, gardens are living works of art whose materials are constantly changing. Her photographs capture those fleeting moments in which light, plant and human shapes combine to form moments of paradise.

The cycle of life

When everything comes to rest in winter when frost and snow lie down like a glittering veil over the landscape, the transience becomes particularly noticeable. « Gardeners know that everything is fleeting, » says Majerus. « You work with the cycle of life: grow, become, pass and return to earth. I think gardens can help us to accept the phases of existence – to be more relaxed about what cannot be changed. »

In her photography, Marianne Majerus is looking for roots, connections, relationships. « The world is fragmented, our relationship with nature and together is under pressure. Gardens can teach us to connect us again. »

She therefore sees gardens as bridges between generations, as places of memory and hope. « In gardens, the voices of our ancestors sound like – grandmothers, grandfathers, people who have been cared for, designed, passed on knowledge. Gardeners plants trees for people who come long after them. This is an act of faith in the future. »

Marianne Majerus, born in Clerf, studied English literature and economy in Great Britain. Before she devoted herself to garden photography, she worked as a landscape and portrait photographer. Her work has been awarded many times, including the International Garden Photographer of the Year (2010), British Garden Photographer of the Year (2002, 2011) and European Garden Photographer of the Year (2018, 2023).

Two exhibitions of the photographer are currently underway as part of the Luga: « In the Garden. The Art of the Ephemeral » is still until June 23, 2025 In Neimënster to see. At the same time, the Merler Park from June 2 to September 30, 2025 under the title « Portraits of Plants » shows further works. This exhibition is an ideal opportunity to experience Majerus’ photographs in direct dialogue with nature.

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« Garden Photography: The Art of the Ephemeral », Marianne Majerus, Editions Guy Binsfeld, 128 pages, 76 color photographs, 29 euros.