Saturday, April 25, 2015

MONET'S WATER GARDEN



I was already smitten after seeing Monet's house and flower garden, but there was more in store on the other side of the road that bisects the property--the Jardin d'Eau or Water Garden. Signs pointed the way via an underground passage.


Claude Monet wanted to extend his gardens at Giverny beyond the walls of his flower garden, Clos Normand. In the 1890s he purchased the adjacent property across the road along a stream to create his now well-known and often painted pond and water garden.





Monet's bamboo garden is surrounded on one side by the meandering Ru, a small brook which is a diversion of the river Epte, which itself is a tributary of the Seine River.












The Ru winds its way around the bamboo eventually emptying into a pond where Monet planted his famous water lilies. 




The water lilies are dormant now in early April, but you can see the submerged rings from where they will grow. Can't you just imagine Claude Monet rowing about his pond surrounded by the magnificent water lilies he made so famous in his paintings? 


Walking around the pond the signs of early spring are evident. Yellow narcissus and violets are in bloom, while the tulips and other later flowering bulbs and flowers await their turn to show off their colors.





Despite the lack of flowers and colorful blooms, however, the reflection of the sky in the pond is a grand show in itself.


So grand, in fact, that two young artists show off their own impressions of Monet's water garden.


For another view of Monet's Garden, watch this short video of the delightful book Linnea in Monet's Garden:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj56NGwjdlc











Tuesday, April 14, 2015

AU PRINTEMPS à GIVERNY

If Springtime in Paris is lovely, spring is even lovelier in the countryside for this Walla Walla girl. And after a week of navigating crowded Metros, museums, and churches, a day trip to the small village of Giverny is a perfect antidote to city-fatigue. But why Giverny? It's the home of one of my favorite Impressionist artists Claude Monet. 

Getting there is easy. From Gare St. Lazare, take the train to Vernon. From there take a bus, rent a bike, or walk the last few miles to the village of Giverny.

Monet lived in this house with its famous pink crushed brick facade from 1883 until his death
 in 1926. Can't you just imagine the leafy Virginia creeper and fragrant roses all in bloom? 


ABOUT THE HOUSE


According to stories, Claude Monet noticed the village of Giverny while looking out of a train window. He made up his mind to move there and rented a house in the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create a house big enough to accommodate his large family as well as the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint.


The pink color of the exterior walls and the green of the shutters was chosen by Monet. In those times, shutters were traditionally painted grey. Monet added a gallery in front of the house, a pergola covered with climbing roses, and grew the vine Virginia creeper on the facade as he wanted the house to blend in with the garden. The green color is also used on all of the benches, trellises, and fences throughout the estate.

At one end of the house, Monet added a room for his studio including this multi-paned north facing window which is noticeably of a different size and shape than the windows of the central, original part of the house.

At the opposite end, Monet designed a large kitchen with sleeping rooms for his four step-daughters above. Including these two additions, the house now measures 132 feet long by only 16 feet deep.


Some of Monet's most famous paintings were of his garden in Giverny famous for its rectangular Clos Normand (walled garden) with archways. This central path is known as the alley and is completely covered in late summer with colorful nasturtiums  under a canopy of climbing roses that grow across the iron arches. Note the green chain in the foreground preventing people from walking down the alley.

Because it was only the first week of April when I visited the garden, there were few blooms to be seen. Nevertheless, I was enamored by the bare bones architecture of the gardens themselves. And I appreciated being able to stroll about the grounds listening to the crunch-crunch of the gravel paths underfoot and the birds singing in the trees, all the while taking photos unhindered by crowds of people.



  
Early springtime allows for peek-a-boo
shots like this of the house as seen
from within the garden



RESTORATION & RECONSTRUCTION


When Monet and his family settled in Giverny in 1883, the piece of land sloping gently down from the house to the road was planted with an orchard and enclosed by high stone walls. Here Monet divided the nearly one hectare into flowerbeds where he married flower clumps of different heights to create volume. Fruit trees and ornamental trees rise above the assorted climbing roses, long-stemmed hollyhocks, and the waves of colorful annuals.

After Monet's death in 1926, his son Michel inherited the house and garden. He did not live there, and it was Monet's step-daughter Blanche who took care of the property. Unfortunately after WWII, the house and garden were neglected, and it was not until 1977 that a team of curators were appointed to not only restore but reconstruct the garden just as it was during Monet's life.

It took almost 10 years to restore the garden and the house since not much was left after the war. The greenhouse panes and windows in the house were reduced to shards as a result of the bombings. Floors and ceiling beams had rotted away, and a staircase had collapsed. Three trees were even growing in Monet's big studio.

In the Clos Normand (walled garden), soil was removed to find the original ground level. Then the same flower species as those of Monet were planted.

Thanks to generous donors the house underwent complete restoration. The antique furniture and Monet's collection of Japanese prints were restored, and public areas were created to accommodate visitors. Since September 1980, the property has been open to the public every year beginning April 1 through October 31. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giverny


Monday, April 6, 2015

APRIL IN PARIS-2013

Place Louis-Lepine - Marché aux fleurs

Two years ago this week, Doug and I were in Paris. (Little did I know then, that this would be the first of several trips to Europe we would take together after I retired.) Just being in Paris in the springtime made me feel like a kid at the carnival. So much to see, smell, hear, and experience all right there before me. 


It was early morning when we passed this flower market on our way to Sainte-Chapelle. The vendors were just setting up, but I knew immediately I had to return because this was a part of the 'other Paris' I wanted to see. 


So later that afternoon, after visiting the day's scheduled tourist sights, Doug and I found our way back to this spot on Île de la Cité in Paris' 4th arrondissement, where I reveled in the abundance of flowering plants, garden novelties, and the sweet smell of soil and water. 



Anyone who knows me knows well that gardening is a passion of mine. And it's not all about the plants. My backyard beds are also filled with an array flea market and thrift store finds that add a bit of character to the seasonal flowers, shrubs and trees. 


The collections of birdhouses caught my eye as I love enticing the birds to set up house in my garden. The vertical house (bottom right, above) is actually not a birdhouse but an insect hotel used in the garden to attract and house beneficial insects. Who knew?


More insect hotels (top shelf) and a dandy chicken. Did I mention that I have a huge collection of chicken "art" both in the garden and in my home?


And who doesn't love lanterns? Can't you just visualize them lit with candles hanging from the trees or set along a path to add soft light to a summer evening? 



But alas, all I could do is take pictures of everything I saw while visualizing it in my own garden back home. Still, not a bad way to spend an afternoon in Paris, n'est-ce pas?