In late April, Monet’s flower garden at Giverny shimmers of the colors of thousands of tulips and other spring bulbs. Used like little dots of paint on a canvas, their planting is so subtle that it combines mass effect and delicacy.

The Grand Alley sports patches of fresh colors.

The ‘paint-box’ aligns little beds of pure colors side by side, like tubes of paint in an artist box. The result is a rainbow framed by the trellis.

Delicate, dainty? Forget-me-not needs some popping red in order not to look twee.

On the western side of the flower garden, rows of tulips recall the tulips fields in Holland that Monet loved and painted. The colors chosen for this side of the garden are those of sunset: yellow, orange and red.

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A stroll through the village of Giverny leads you very soon to unbeaten paths. In the tranquility of streets that few visitors dare explore, little wonders await the passer by.

I like the loving care taken to decorate this window. The curtain is made out of an antique tablecloth, a rather ingenuous upcycling, for who still uses tablecloths like this one?

The little pompom daisies in their vintage terracotta planter add just the perfect amount of freshness and spring flair. I like their simplicity.

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There are no water lilies yet, but their pads don’t loose a minute to look picturesque…

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Did you ever try and grow a hyacinth in your kitchen? If so, you certainly remember how fragrant a single bulb is. So imagine being seated on this green bench in Monet’s garden, wrapped by the scent of hundreds of hyacinths… This is an early April rapture at Giverny.

The brand of the bench, le banc idéal – the ideal bench – has nothing to do with the floral wonders of Giverny. But it sounds appropriate, doesn’t it?

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