Monet’s Greenhouse

by Ariane ~ December 21, 2011

monet-greenhouseAre you curious to have a look inside of Monet’s greenhouse, that is not open to the public?
I was! With the allowance of the gardener, I took this picture last July.
Even in Summer many plants need to be kept inside. Some of them will decorate the house, others will be used to adornate the meeting rooms when VIPs come to Giverny, others are waiting for being planted, others are mother plants…
Monet was such a keen gardener that he built a greenhouse on the location of this one, on the left side of the flower garden. It was heated, and the painter cultivated orchids and exotic ferns. He also grew his seedlings in the greenhouse.

2 Responses to “Monet’s Greenhouse”

  1. Rae Benedetto Says:

    I am so curious as how Monet and his gardeners achieved the lush growth of nasturtium. I read they planted them 5 to a pot in April, they moved the first to a cold frame and then planted them in the garden soil in mid May. But it is most interesting to know what variety and what type of soil they had. In one interview he said there was a layer of clay, but was the soil acidic or more calciferous? Did he keep bees? Are there any books with details about the gardening?

  2. Ariane Says:

    The best books about gardening at Giverny are ‘Monet’s Garden: Through the Seasons at Giverny’ by Vivian Russell and ‘Monet the Gardener’ by Robert Gordon.
    Nasturtiums are easy to grow in our (normally) rainy climate, they even tend to overgrow. The soil is calciferous. Monet didn’t keep bees, but certainly some neighbours in the village did.

Leave a Reply