Monet’s second studio in the flower garden at Giverny
At the top of his flower garden, in the upper left corner, Monet built a studio in 1899. Aged 58, he was now famous, recognized as a master, and rich enough to turn his building dreams into reality.
A double row of lime-trees (tilia) linked this studio with the garden. Monet and his family loved to stay in their shade on warm summer days for a lunch in the open air.
In their times, the ground was sanded. Nowadays, a tempting lawn covers this cool area, but just for the pleasure of the eyes: it is not allowed to step, not to speak about lying on it.
In the background, against the studio wall, Monet installed an aviary where the children kept wounded birds that they tried to rescue.
Garlands of wisterias wrap Monet’s footbridge with softness and delicacy. They are of different colors and sizes of panicles, from small to very long, from mauve to white, and when the sun shines, they fill the air with their fragrance.
The bridge over the Seine seen from the Ferris wheel
This is not a drone picture. It is the bridge in Vernon seen from the Ferris wheel that is staying until the 19th of May.
If like me you can have vertigo in an elevator, it is sure high enough to feel insecure, though it is not the biggest wheel in the world, of course.
But at the same time it is kind of magic to look at things from a different angle. Every day I walk or drive on this bridge over the Seine, it was exhilarating to see the place with birds eyes.
Visitors from the United States taught me the English name for what we call une grande roue, a big wheel. “Fairies wheel ?”, I asked. They spelled it for me.
Vibrant colors are softened by bright greens in front of Monet’s house at Giverny
Peonies belonged to Monet’s most cherished flowers. Rare species were sent to him from Asia, needless to say that the painter was thrilled and took great care of them.
Their beautiful colors and fragile looking petals have still many admirers. The giant size of the flowers, their light scent and ornamental foliage make them must have in a garden.
At Giverny, they are combined with annuals and spring bulbs. The gardeners experiment new harmonies every year, which is a good tip to avoid monotony in your on garden. If by any chance you are not enthusiastic about the result, it doesn’t matter much because bulbs can be changed next year. And peonies flower for such a short time that the not-so-well-matching effect will not last.
Claude Monet’s water garden at Giverny on 18th April
It is going to be a sunny and warm long week-end of Easter, and just as leaves feel like bursting out of the buds and bathing in the sunshine, we will be many to take advantage of these lovely days to walk out in the open air, enjoying the breeze on our face.
At Giverny, in Claude Monet’s garden, a special treat awaits visitors: many spring flowers are fragrant. Some smell like perfume, especially on sunny days.
Flowers live their own lives. They want to attract pollinating insects. They make lots of efforts, they dress themselves in bright colors, they produce these intoxicating scents to obtain the favor of insects visit. As human beings, we are not involved in this process. We are just observers, fascinated by their beauty.
After all the colors of the flower garden, the water garden of Giverny is a peaceful heaven where to relax and daydream. To make most of your day, come at opening time or in late afternoon. The best hour is the last one.
The first flowers are opening at Giverny! And so will Monet’s gardens and house very soon. Christmas roses, pansies, jonquils, daffodils, hyacinths and more are among the early spring flowers. They give colors to Monet’s living painting, his own garden. I’m looking forward to seeing the 2019 show prepared by the 11 gardeners. Hope to see you too in the alleys!
One of the joys of winter is that Nature schedules its sunrise show at a decent morning time. This is River Seine at Vernon and Giverny at about 8.30 am in January. Claude Monet would have loved it.
This unique cross stitch work features Monet’s house at Giverny. I shot it at an exhibition organised by a group of cross stitchers from Vernon. To see all the details, click to enlarge.
For 2019, I wish you a lot of time to do all what you’ve been wanting to do for a long while. It may be sitting next to the fire place embroidering or organizing your next holiday… Enjoy this new year!
In Claude Monet’s garden, it is all about colors. Petals are used like paint, like brushstrokes, to give the illusion of an impressionist painting in which we can walk.
In October and November, asters are at their best at Giverny, creating masses of little starry flowers. They mate with many other late bloomers such as sages, love lies bleeding, garden chrysanthemums or dahlias of all kind, showing that autumn too is a great season for flowers.
This beautiful shrub grows in Claude Monet’s flower garden. It has not been planted for many years, so I wondered what could be the name of this new comer. I browsed the internet eagerly, without any success.
The next day, by chance, I found it. I was sipping an expresso on the terrasse of La Capucine, a coffee-shop at Giverny that also sells plants, when my eyes got caught by this big flowery plant that was displayed in the distance. I jumped out of my seat, rushed to the pot, read the label, ‘Clerodendron’ ! It is such a joy when you experiment in your own life the help of up there. Now I’m posting in order to share and not to forget.
This charming little bridge stands at one end of Claude Monet’s water lily pond in Giverny, over the small canal that used to bring some water into the pond. Agapanthus grown in planters and white hydrangeas cultivated like trees grace the place. Does this scene look familiar to you? It recalls many famous works of the artist. But as iconic as it sounds, Monet never painted this little bridge in his garden, but the big one only. Now covered with a canopy of wisterias, the big bridge has lost some of its likeness with Monet’s paintings.
