The common name of this beautiful flower that grows in Monet’s water garden is a bit strange: it’s called toad lily.
The appearance of this perennial is more orchid like.
It requires a moist soil, as do toads, part shade under trees, and in these conditions it is very hardy.
The tricyrtis appears late in season.
This picture was taken in October.
On the 30th of October, the perfectly serene pool in Claude Monet’s garden offers a mirror view of the world around.
Blue sky and turning trees create a bold contrast between the still floating water lily pads.
(Click on the picture to enlarge).
An unusual light on Monet’s water lily pond, while big dark clouds are loaming ahead… Just time enough to walk around the pound, and the drops will start to fall on the surface of the pool in hundreds of little circles.
Water lily pads floating on Claude Monet’s pond at Giverny have a strange ability of changing their color. When they first pop they are purple, like the ones upside down on the pic. The sunlight turns them green. Claude Monet, who was a good observer of his garden, had noted these two colors. On some of his Nymphea paintings he made them green with a purple circle around.
Bamboos are ever green. This picture was taken on the 1st of November, the very last day of the season, and even on such a late date bamboos were as pretty as ever.
Bamboos are not native to France. The golden bamboos that Monet chose look very tall and exotic in Normandy.
Monet liked growing giant plants and Japanese plants, and bamboos were both at the same time.
As a clever gardener, the painter chose the best location for them: on an island of his water garden, where they would get enough water, and where the invasive roots would be contained by the stream.
He never painted them, but certainly liked the contrast their shade produces with the pond, that is open and full of light.
After Monet passed away, the garden was left without much tending for long years. But the bamboos have survived, because they regenerate spontaneously, making new shoots every year.
During the decades when Monet’s house was left uninhabited, the garden became the playground of the children of Giverny. One of their favorite games was playing Tarzan in Monet’s bamboo grove. For them, it looked like a rain forest.
Every year, they nest on the island in the middle of the pond, or in the shrubs around. After a few weeks, they appear on the water with their adorable little chicks, five of them generally.
They are so sweet, light enough to walk on the lily pads. Both parents take care of them. But it won’t help.
Because we are human beings with a memory, we know what’s going to happen next: the ducklings will end in the belly of the pike living in the pond. This is the cruel story that repeats every year.
But because they are moor hens, and have not much space for brains in their head, they forget every year and keep nesting on the same location.
This afternoon two of the smalls only were left.
The water lily pads float like islands on the surface. No flowers yet.
Short before closing time, visitors are few. The late afternoon sunshine enlightens the trees on the eastern side of the pool. Silence falls on the garden. The scent of the flowers is in the air.
I have eventually gathered my favorite pictures of Giverny into a photo gallery.
Season after season, Monet’s water garden and flower garden change a lot.
I like early morning atmospheres as well as rainy days, bright sunshine or sunset. I like the snow white garden. I like roses and nympheas. I like the colors of autumn, the stunning reflections on the pond.
I hope you will like them too.
If you’d like painting after my pictures, please feel free. I would be happy to see your work.
This is what you can expect if you are visiting Giverny in Early April. The white and pink magnolias are in blossom. Very soon, their flowers will fall on the lawns, creating a white circle at the foot of the trees.
The pimples of weeping willows have burst, long branches of fresh green leaves hang over the pond, reflecting in endless verticals.
Patches of yellow or white daffodils illuminate the spring grass and diffuse a fabulous scent.
Monet’s pond, where only a few water lily pads announce the future splendour of Summer, is stiller than ever, and the atmosphere very peaceful.
All the benches and bridges have been repainted a bright green. They look inviting.
And birds sing like mads, offering the perfect voice track for a quiet and serene visit of Giverny.
– a flat boat copied from Monet’s, very common in his times,
– a big garbage can,
– a carp net,
– thick gloves to protect your hands.
Equipped with these very simple tools, the gardener is ready for the constant battle he has to fight.
The battle field is the surface, and the invaders are of different kinds. The main body of the army is made out of dried leaves and seeds. Drown bugs must go, too.
Alone against the ennemy that is continuously renewed, the gardener must be a super heroe. He needs a good balance, a strong back and strong arms to fish the dirt and take it out, leaf after leaf. Good spirits are essential too. Patience and perseverance.
No wonder the algaes and leaves fishing gardener is the star of the pond, photographed millions of times by the visitors of Giverny.
Yesterday morning, I visited the closed and cold Monet garden. It was probably the most beautiful day of the winter. A few inches of snow covered pond and park, and shined in the sunlight. It looked so still and sleepy… But life is not far away, just hiding in every little hole.
Under the Japanese bridge, a bird has stamped its very regular footsteps, designing new curves to add to those imagined by Claude Monet.
A quiet path, early in the morning in Claude Monet’s water garden at Giverny.
The big tree on the right is the trunk of a taxodium, a deciduous coniferous that loves river sides. The big leaves at its feet are petasites, also known as butterbur, a plant that grows wild along the streams in the surroundings of Giverny.
An orange azalea tops a bed of pink tulips and pink forget-me-nots.
This picture was taken last Spring, the 4th of May.
It is many painters’ dream to be able to stay in Monet’s garden to paint.
If your medium is watercolor, pencils, ink… no problem. Just sit down on a bench (preferably) and paint. But if you use acrylic, for instance, and need an easel therefore, you must ask for allowance. Please get in touch with Fondation Monet. If there aren’t too many requests for the day you wish, you will be granted the privilege of staying in the gardens after closing time. This is the best way to feel just like Monet, almost alone on the grounds. Same vibrations, same inspiration. Have a great time!
Best wishes
from Giverny
for a splendid
year 2012
full of light
and beauty!