"I am following Nature without being able to grasp her, I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." ~ Claude Monet
Monet's Japenese Garden Bridge
Monet's Japenese Garden Bridge
In search of beautiful Spring gardens and flowers I came upon Monet's gardens in Giverny, France. I love his impressionism paintings and quickly recognized his garden inspiration. His five acre garden is maintained by eight gardeners and thankfully remains to inspire us today. I'm always on the look out for daffodil beauty and loved finding them in this picture.
Poppy Field near Vetheuil, France 1879
Poppy Field near Vetheuil, France 1879
Poppies are dear to my heart. They literally "pop" with color. I would love the thrill of walking through poppy fields. On occassion I happily find cut poppy arrangements in our grocery stores.
Monet's Especially Cultivated Apple Trees
Monet's garden was originally a orchard. He preferred the exotic and kept only a few pear and apple trees. His apple trees are cultivated around a square lawn and pruned in a shape called cordon. The article states this is quite common in Normandy and pretty.
cordon: Botany. A tree or shrub, especially a fruit tree such as an apple or pear, repeatedly pruned and trained to grow on a support as a single ropelike stem. (answer.com)
cordon: Botany. A tree or shrub, especially a fruit tree such as an apple or pear, repeatedly pruned and trained to grow on a support as a single ropelike stem. (answer.com)
* "When the apple trees are very young, two or three years old only, they are severely pruned. The gardener keeps one branch only on each side of the trunk. In Monet’s garden there is an upper tree and a lower tree, and they cross. The purpose for this clipping is to make lovely hedges and to obtain bigger apples, as they get a lot of sunshine and water."
This was interesting and if I lived in the north and grew apples I would want to try this.
Monet's Home, Giverny, France
Okay, I could live in this house. I could wander the gardens with my pets tagging along. Evening light would be chunky white candles placed in a cluster on small marble tables. I would learn to speak french and become the french Julia Childs. The ancestors of this home and grounds would tell me true stories in my dreams. These stories would be published and sustain my life in Giverny, France. A new impressionism would draw both artist and author for bed and breakfast retreat providing additional funds. I would blog about everything. Hand written invitations would fly from continent to continent. Think of it. Sigh....
Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment. ~ Claude Monet
I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
9 comments:
So absolutely beautiful! Wonderful spring post!
Wonderful post...made me feela little bit better...
still sad :-(
thanks for thinking of me
you are so kind....and i appreciate it.
sending love,
kary
When you move in, may I come and visit you? Monet is one of my favorite painters, especially after I spent many happy hours in museums drinking his paintings in. His Waterlilies series, which used to surround visitors in the oval room at Jeu de Paumes, are blissful!
what a wonderful post! it has inspired me to post more pics of my gardens!
Oh this post was beautiful and timely. I am doing a presentation at an art center in Oregon and it focuses on writers and painters and Monet is one of my main topics.
For one of my last birthdays we spent the day in his gardens. Just immersed ourselves in the beauty.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
You always inspire me to think outside of my little world, to remember to read good books and appreciate art. I wasn't alway a Florida Farm girl, I don't want to lose that side of myself.
Beautiful post!
Oh, I love this post! I dove into your title, and feel as if I have "died and gone to heaven" in these images and your imaginings! Thank you for showering us with Monet ~ so perfect for Spring. I have a VHS tape of the children's book "Linnea in Monet's Garden" and I love to watch it for all the scenes of his house and his gardens. I'm with Terra: May I come and visit you, too?? xo Kari of Writing Up A Storm
thanks for thinking of me today
you're a dear
sending love,
kary
xxx
I was recently at the museum of art in New Orleans. There is a Monet (Rooftops, Giverny)on the second floor. I saw it within five minutes of setting foot into the museum and couldn't move away. Never saw the rest of their collection. I sat on a wooden bench for an hour looking at it and writing about it. Amazing. Artists like Monet not only had the gift of seeing the world differently for themselves, but could also paint in such a way as to allow the viewer to share their perspective, if just for a moment.
Anxiously awaiting a French lavender-fragranced, handwritten invitation on hand-pressed paper... *Sigh* indeed.
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