EDITORS: DEBBIE WELLS AND JACQUELINE COVEY

WELCOME TO GIVERNY

BY JACQUELINE COVEY

ALL IMAGES FROM FONDATION CLAUDE MONET - GIVERNY

Giverny. The word instantly brings three things to mind: French painter Claude Monet, a gorgeous garden, and water lilies. Located about an hour and a half a bit northwest of Paris, Giverny is the name of the small picturesque village where Monet moved with his family in 1886 (he had already been visiting and painting there since 1883). There, he planned and managed the renovation of his home. The Impressionist master planted and cultivated his lush “Giverny” flower gardens, with thousands and thousands of flowers. Monet himself designed these gardens, placing colorful flower beds and meandering pathways just where he wanted them. It’s like he was designing the layout of his painted canvases to come. 

A stroll through the gardens reveals a world of flowers: red, pink and yellow roses all about on the ground and draping over and through metal archways, bursts of deep purple pansies and pale purple lavender, elegant irises, patches of bright red geraniums, as well as peonies, impatiens, and more. When you enter Monet’s home and look out onto his garden, it’s like one of his pictures in a frame. He said, “Gardening was something I learned in my youth when I was unhappy. I perhaps own having become a painter to flowers,” and simply, “I must have flowers, always, and always.” 

The more success Monet enjoyed as a painter, the more he renovated and expanded his Giverny home and gardens. One such expansion: the Water Garden. He bought the plot next door, diverted water from a nearby offshoot of the Epte River, and built the splendid pond where he placed the water lilies — which of course, took on a life of their own.  It’s said that he painted the water lilies — nymphéas in French — approximately 250 times.

Monet remained at Giverny till the end of his life. He painted the floral and water gardens again and again, even as his vision diminished. Monet’s home and garden now comprise 

the Fondation Claude Monet museum, a historical monument of France, and of course, it is one of the most visited tourist sites. 

There’s so much more to learn and love about Claude Monet. Join us on February 20 for Claude Monet: Crash Course webinar. Click here to register online or contact us at debbie@artfulenrichment.comf or snail mail instructions.

Did you know…?

• There are 66 different species of flowers and plants on Monet’s Giverny property.

• Monet had a gardener clean his lily pads daily, and even today gardeners may be seen making sure things are spotless in the pond. 

• He had a huge collection of fine Japanese ukiyo-e prints (see image above), and we know he built the Japanese-style bridge on the pond, but Monet had never been to Japan.

• Monet spent over half his life living in Giverny. 

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