Giverny & Monet

House, garden and village

Claude Monet noticed the village of Giverny while looking out of a

train windowFirst he rented

the house, in 1890 he bought house

and land

And set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint

The central alley is covered over by iron arches on which climbing roses grow

The Two Gardens

A flower garden called “Clos Normand “ In front of the house

A Japanese water garden on the other side of the road

Claude Monet did not

like organized or

constrained gardens.He matched flowers

according to their colors

and left them to grow

rather freely

From this Clos Normand of about one hectare, Monet made a garden full of perspectives, symmetries and colors

With the passing years he developed a passion for botany

Exchanging plants with his friends Clemenceau and Caillebotte.

Always on the look-out for rare varieties, he bought young plants at great expense. "All my money goes into my garden," he said.

In 1893, ten years after his arrival at Giverny, Monet bought the piece of land next to his property on the other side of the railway. It was crossed by a small stream, the Ru, tributary of the Epte, a tributary of the Seine

Monet had the first small pond dug, even though his peasant neighbors were opposed.

They were afraid that his strange plants would poison the water…

In this water garden you will find the famous Japanese bridge covered with wisterias, other smaller bridges, weeping willows, a bamboo wood and above all

the nympheas which bloom all summer long

Later, the pond would be enlarged to its present day size. The water garden is full of asymmetries and curves.

It is inspired by the Japanese gardens that Monet knew from the prints he collected avidly

The Japanese bridge

Monet had it built by a local craftsman

It is made of beech wood

The wisterias have been planted by him

Monet would find his inspiration in this water garden for more than twenty yearsAfter the Japanese bridge series, he would devote himself to the giant decorations of the Orangerie

Never before had a painter shaped his subjects in nature

before painting them. And so he created his works twice

The village has remained a small rural setting with a

modest population (numbering around 301 in

1883 when Monet discovered it) and has seen a boom in

tourism since the restoration of Monet's house and gardens

The Hôtel Baudy was a center of

artistic life in the Giverny heyday.

It is now still a café and restaurant,

with typical decoration

Walking searching a restaurant I found this quite charming field , very similar to Monet’s pictures

Giverny is on the "right bank" of the Sena River The village lies 80 km (50 ml) from Paris, in the province of Normandy

Open dailyFrom April 1st to November 1st From 9.30 AM to 6.00 PMLast entrance at 5.30 p.m.

Music : Le temps des fleursSinger: Dalida

By Maríamocampos@gmail.comhttp://www.youtube.com/user/nikkitta8