Malmaison

A bit of French history: the "Château de Malmaison" was Empress Josephine Bonaparte's private residence. Several miles away from the metropolitan whirl of Paris, Malmaison was Josephine's personal haven, much like Petit Trianon was Marie Antoinette's summer cottage. Josephine decorated the rooms extravagantly and cultivated rare plants in the garden; she had a keen interest in botany. Because her real name was also "Rose" (Napoleon decided to call her "Josephine" because he liked it better, a nickname that will stick for all of history), Josephine planted numerous varieties of rose bushes all around L'jardin. Her private painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté spent much of his time drawing and painting these beautiful blooms. A lovely book of these drawings is now available from Barnes and Noble. Apparently there was also a zoo at Malmaison, and pineapple trees.

Although Napoleon loved Josephine, she cost him a fortune not only in finances but also in heartbreak (she was cheating on him quite voraciously when he went off on his Egyptian campaign)...I'm pretty sure she's mostly responsible for his misogyny and anti-feminism in the Civic Code. When he divorced her for the official reason of her not being able to produce him an heir, Josephine moved permanently to Malmaison and there spent the rest of her days. After she passed away in 1814, Napoleon kept dried violets (from Malmaison) in a locket he wore around his neck. He kept this memory of her until his own death, and his last words were said to be "France, the army, and Josephine."