On April 1st, when Fondation Claude Monet opens again for a new season, it is early Spring.

On the hills of the Seine valley, the pastures are still grey, waiting for a new grass to grow.

But in Monet’s garden, the first flowers display their colors.

The weeping willows open their buds and swing their freshly born leaves over the pond.

On the river side, the small basket willows stretch their orange twigs.

These traditional trees are useful to prevent the banks from slipping into the river, and they are lovely too.

It is still Winter right now, but we are all looking forward to Spring.

Posted in Giverny, Water-Garden No Comments »

The beauty of late season at Giverny relies on the reflections on Monet’s pond.

The surrounding trees turn red, orange, yellow and dip their image into the water.

Their warm colors split in dots of changing shapes form a stunning contrast with the cold blue and perfectly defined leaves of the remaining water lilies.

 This picture was taken one month ago. Now the leaves have been blown away, and Fondation Claude Monet is closed until next 1st April.

Posted in Giverny, Water-Garden No Comments »

In his water garden at Giverny, Claude Monet planted tall trees like weeping willows, ash trees, chestnut trees, poplars, copper beeches…

They were underplanted by shrubs that offered their interesting foliages, flowers, berries, and scents: roses, tree peonies, azaleas, rhododendrons, viburnums, Japanese maples, ferns…

These shrubs were underplanted by flowers, for example flag irises, to provide a touch of vibrant color.

Thus, Monet created a little world that resembled a clearance in the woods.

 He liked to feel blended with nature. Staring at the reflections of the sky into the pond, he could loose any notion of himself and merge into the waterscape.

Posted in Water-Garden No Comments »

Autumn has just touched Monet’s garden with its magic.

The foliage change their greens or dark reds to bright tones. The weeping willows get gold, the poplars and the wisterias yellow, the needles of the taxodium rost, the liquidambars turn red and orange…

 The huge copper beech is not copper anymore, but a light brown, and all the leaves of the irises, thalias, hostas and other water side plants say goodbye to the season in a mixture of green, brown and yellow shades.

All these colors reflect into the pond in a stunning way. Each hour is different, from vaporous foggy mornings to bright sunny afternoons, and brings its own light on to the pond for the enjoyment of the last visitors of the season.

Posted in Water-Garden No Comments »

Two curved bridges face one another on both ends of Monet’s pond at Giverny.

The big one is covered with wisterias, whereas the small one doesn’t have any.

But a neighbouring wisteria can give the illusion that it is covering the little bridge too!

 Its golden color brightens all the greens around.

Posted in Giverny, Water-Garden No Comments »

Weeping willows were among Claude Monet’s favorite trees for many reasons, one of them being the translucent quality of their leaves.

On the side of his water lily pond at Giverny, Monet planted several willows.

Two of them still survive, although some branches start to become hollow.

But young willows planted thirty years ago, like the one on the picture, are now mature, as big as Monet could have seen them.

Weeping willows fascinate because of their vertical twigs that beautifully reflect into the pond.

Visitors will also see two other kinds of willows, the tortuous ones, very decorative, and the basket willows.

Generally pruned drastically to force the willow to produce new twigs every year, that will be cut to weave baskets, these willows like the river borders and are part of the traditional landscape of Normandy.

In Monet’s gardens, however, one of them was allowed to grow, and its branches pointed to the sky like a V make it resemble a person with the arms up. A very happy willow!

Posted in Giverny, Water-Garden No Comments »

Water lilies are summer flowers.

 They like a warm water and a lot of sunshine.

In Monet’s garden at Giverny, the Nympheas that grace the pond are at their peak.

 Their crowns of pale petals reflect in the changing colors of the surface, creating harmonies that inspire the many painters visiting the gardens.

Posted in Flower, Water-Garden No Comments »

The beautiful lavender blossom of the paulownia in Monet’s flower garden at Giverny harmonizes with the orange azaleas of the water garden, on the other side of the road.

The paulownia blooms exactly at the same time than the lavender wisterias gracing Monet’s Japanese footbridge.

Is it intended or not? What is a coincidence, and what is due to the choices of a clever gardener?

In Monet’s garden, I believe most of the meetings between plants aren’t accidental. Monet, as well as the present day head gardener, was very good at organising dates among the flowers.

Posted in Giverny, Monet's flower garden, Water-Garden No Comments »

Early in the morning, long before the first visitor arrives in Monet’s garden at Giverny, rays of orange sunshine stroke the Japanese bridge of the water garden, while a light mist raises from the pond.

 Monet, who was an early bird, loved to get up before sunrise, in order not to miss a second of the dramatic show of light and water.

Posted in Claude Monet, Giverny, Water-Garden No Comments »

Forthysias are in bloom again at Giverny.

Their bright yellow enlightens not only Monet’s, but every gardens.

Today it is raining a little bit. The sky is overcast and grey, the Seine silvery, the landscape bathed in a mute grey light.

 This is the weather forthysias like most for their very special magic. When all the colors have disappeared, their bunches burn like fires. Their straight twigs resemble rays of sunshine.

When the real sun comes back again, the magic vanishes. Forthysia bunches become yellow flowers again.  

Posted in Giverny, Water-Garden 1 Comment »

Walking around Monet’s pond in summertime gives a strange feeling of deja vu.

This place especially, where the long branches of three big weeping willows reach the surface of the pond, offering views on to the blooming water lilies, looks familiar.

Claude Monet loved this spot that he painted over and over again, and that is even featured on the huge Grandes Decorations at l’Orangerie.

The vertical lines mixed with the floating water lilies and the reflections on the surface of the pond challenged his command of perspective.

Posted in Claude Monet, Giverny, Water-Garden 5 Comments »

It was a dream come true for me to enter Monet’s garden at sunset to take pictures of the dusk.

Cold Winter days finish in a symphony of very tender colors, soft pinks and blues, whereas milder days generally offer dramatic sunsets with flaming reds on low clouds.

As it was last week, it was just incredible to be there, in the absolutely empty garden, walking around the frozen water lily pond waiting for the sky to change.

During the Winter parenthesis, when it is closed for five months, Giverny stops being iconic. Monet’s pool is no more the motiv for world wide known canvases. It becomes a patch of nature again, a very small place indeed lost in the frozen landscape. The realm of wild life.

Posted in Water-Garden No Comments »

Monet’s pond is frozen.

A small coating of snow hides the surface like a new canvas.

Long blue shadows stretch on the shining whiteness.

 Not a single flower.

 Even the brave pansies are covered with a blanket of snow.

No colors, except for the green bridges.

Birds are hiding, but their prints are everywhere, like strange words written in the snow.

And the running water of the river reminds that life is awaiting under the appearant death of nature.

Posted in Claude Monet, Giverny, Water-Garden 1 Comment »

Fall is a talented artist who paints beautiful works on Monet’s water lily pond at Giverny.

Late October is the best time to admire the warm reflection of foliage on the surface so often painted by the master of Impressionism.

Liquidambars, weeping willows, poplars, taxodium, beech, chestnut trees all offer their brightest tones duplicated by the mirror of the lake.

Then the breeze comes like a magic stick to blur it all and turn the perfect images into nature’s brushstrokes.

And the little green bridge is there to frame it all.

Posted in Giverny, Water-Garden No Comments »

Monet’s gardens at Giverny will soon close: next Sunday in the evening, on November 1st. Just before their Winter sleep, they offer a gorgeous show on the side of the water garden.

The tall trees that surround the pond change their green or dark red colors for much brighter ones.

The taxodium becomes as red as a squirrel. It will last a few days and then it will loose its needles, until new ones grow next Spring, giving it a fresh green look.

Through the branches of the taxodium, like a spying eye, one can spot a window of Monet’s house in the distance.

Posted in Monet's House, Water-Garden No Comments »