Impressionist Painter Claude Monet was a Garden Designer

Monet’s Passion: Ideas Inspiration and Insight from the Painter’s Gardens, by Elizabeth Murray, Pomegranate Artbooks

We are so caught up in the historical and aesthetic significance of the English garden, and its recent American transformation, that we easily forget about the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet and his significant contribution to flower garden design. Elizabeth Murray created this jewel of a publication as homage to Monet’s horticultural genius. It is a beautiful, elegant example of the art of publishing at its best.  

Claude Monet, Garden at Giverny, 1900. Musee d'Orsay. ParisAlthough its earlier edition was marketed as an art book, it is indeed a gardener’s delight. I discovered it only recently, when my daughter visited for the holidays and found time to clear out unwanted possessions, left behind from her teenage years at home. She had purchased the book as inspiration for the art classes she once took. Now, it has no value to her and she asked if I could use it. When I picked it up to flip though its pages, I discovered beautiful images of flower beds, some immortalized on canvas by Monet, and others photographed by Ms. Murray. All are suitable inspiration for future generations of flower gardeners.

Claude Monet (1840-1926). Waterlilies: Green Reflections. Detail of left side, room 1, east wall, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris. In 1989, a few years before the release of the first edition of the book, fine art photographer, landscape horticulturist, and author Elizabeth Murray assisted with the restoration of Monet’s gardens at his Giverny estate in France. In this best-seller, she reported on the garden’s original development, its maintenance, Monet’s color theories, design elements, and his use of light and shade.

Monet, Bridge at Giverny, http://www.thecultureconcept.com/circle/first-impressions-monet-pisarro-sisley-renoirShe also supplied rich photos of the restored gardens in bloom, flowerbeds drawn to scale, aerial diagrams of some of the original flower compositions, as well as translucent annotated blueprints, superimposed on the sketches to assist readers who might wish to recreate the flowerbeds for themselves.

Climbing pink rose tree at Giverny, by Elizabeth Murray.The Giverny estate includes nearly three acres of flowers, an arched tunnel covered with climbing roses, a wide walk carpeted with creeping nasturtium, and a two-acre water lily garden, traversed by a wisteria-covered, Japanese footbridge. Ms. Murray reported that the artist deliberately pondered the placement of every flower that bloomed in his garden in order to create subjects and views waiting to be painted.

Monet's Giverny garden (photo © Elizabeth Murray) http://pomegranatecom.blogspot.com/2011/04/me-and-monet.htmlAccording to the author, the gardens were designed “using the technique of succession planting. Bulbs and annuals are woven into perennial flower borders to provide color throughout the growing seasons. Scale and borrowed landscapes increase the visual size of the garden. Large blocks of monochromatic colors are used for impact, complementary colors are placed next to each other for intensity, specific color is used to increase the atmospheric effect of mist and sunlight, and the reflection of the sky and landscape on the surface of the water is used as a design feature”.

http://www.monet-giverny-normandy.com/tag/giverny/Flower gardening used to be an attraction restricted to a small group of dedicated hobbyists. With the proliferation of the big box garden centers, this passion has become a joyful activity accessible to a much wider population. Even though the book was released over twenty years ago, it has remained a timeless classic that speaks to newer generations of flower gardeners, an audience infinitely larger than the publisher could have ever imagined.

In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the first publication of Monet's Passion: Ideas, Inspiration, and Insights from the Painter's Gardens, a revised and enhanced edition was published in 2010. I am happy to have rediscovered this work and share it with my readers.

Winner of Two Tickets to the Pacific Orchid Exposition

Gina Braden of Berkeley, California is the winner of two tickets to the Pacific Orchid Exposition to be held in San Francisco from February 23 to 26, 2012. Thanks to all who participated in this give-away.

The Eveready Bunny is a Pink Garden in Devon.

Here is an example of a pink garden that keeps on giving and giving. This photo essay from Holbrook Garden in Devon, U.K underscores that, in temperate and colder climates, pink is one of the most enduring colors in the garden.

The pink gardens of Holbrook in June

The pink garden in July

August flowers in the pink garden

September blooms in the pink garden

The last hurrah of pink in October

Win Two Tickets to the Pacific Orchid Exhibition, February 2012.

Phalaenopsis hybrid. Photo by Eric Hunt for San Francisco Orchid Society. Orchid lovers, who are planning to be in San Francisco, California at the end of February, are invited to attend the Pacific Orchid Exposition sponsored by the San Francisco Orchid Society. This event will take place February 23 to 26, 2012, at Fort Mason Center's Festival Pavilion.

The Pacific Orchid Exhibition is the largest orchid show in the United States, exhibiting more than 150,000 orchid flowers from all over the world. The event offers educational exhibits from local, national and international orchid growers. Each day, attendees can take part in docent tours and learn cultivation tips as they wander through this amazing orchid wonderland.

Cymbidium hybrid. Photo by Eric Hunt for San Francisco Orchid Society.

The mission of the San Francisco Orchid Society is to foster the culture and cultivation of orchids and to promote orchid education to its members and the public. Because of its diverse microclimate, the San Francisco Bay Area is widely acknowledged as one of the best orchid growing regions in the world and is home to thousands of exotic species.

The event opens with a Gala Benefit Preview, February 23 from 6:30 to 10:00 PM. The hours for the Show and Plant sale are Friday, February 24 from 10 AM to 6 PM, Saturday, February 25, from 9 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday, February 26 from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Cattleya orchid CAB001 from the catalog of Yih-Cheng of Taiwan, one of the 33 orchid vendors exhibiting at POE 2012.For tickets by phone call 1-888-695-0888 and for event information call 650- 548-6700 or visit www.orchidsanfrancisco.org

Free Ticket Offer:-   Since I am unable to attend this exhibit, I am happy to give away the tickets that were generously offered to me. Therefore, the first reader to contact me [use the link in the banner above] will receive two free general admission tickets. The winning email will be determined by the earliest time and date accompanying a reply, at the moment it appears in my inbox. The winner’s coordinates will be forwarded to the publicity department of the POE and they will mail tickets directly to the lucky reader.  Announcement of the winner will appear in a subsequent blog.

Poster artwork copyright by Sally RoberstonThe Pacific Orchid Exposition is a non-profit organization committed to horticultural education and saving the rain forests.

Through the Eyes of a Gardener

Supermarket Hibiscus by Roy Latham, QuickShotArtist.comNature bestowed upon my family the trait of acute perception. We see things others miss. This ability is a useful tool when communicating with difficult people, but a handicap when it overwhelms us with more information than we can process. We have no control over the spontaneity and speed with which our eyes gather data. It just happens.

Those who share this trait sometimes observe what they cannot understand, and that makes them anxious. Stress may be generated when an object that is out of place is first noticed. In the garden, I am irritated when I see subtle flaws in my work.

My uncle became a renowned home decorator by used this gift. He was valued for his skill in selecting and mixing the perfect shade for a wall’s color. Keen observation helped my father understand human nature. It made him a better restauranteur, a field where peering into other people’s souls is an effective way to help patrons decide what they want to eat. He and his sisters also used their sharp eyes to determine what made people tick.

Whenever they walked into a room, their attention would be drawn to a person whose deportment reflexively attracted their brain’s attention. First, they observed the body deportment and determined if the individual walked tall or inhibited. They noticed the facial expression, the knit of the brow, the purse of the lips, eye movement, eye contact and if the stare was piercing or diffused, whether the eyelid was wide open or lowered, the timber of the voice, the pallor of the skin, the strength of a handshake, and if it was warm or clammy.

They were also keenly aware how people expressed themselves, the choice of words, the inflection of voice, if a question was answered directly, if it was deflected, or if it was ignored. Sometimes, what they presumed they had discovered about a person upset them, deeply. Although they never willed it to happen, nothing about anyone escaped their scrutiny.

I too have the ability to absorb reflexively more visual information than I need. This occurs each time I walk into a crowded room and it overwhelms me. When I visited a nursery for the first time, my eyes darted back and forth over thousands of plants, like untamed horses racing through the wilderness, and I was unable to stop them. Today, with a better understanding of how my behavior is affected by the family DNA, I prefer to socialize in small groups and I don’t go shopping for plants unless I have a list to follow.

When I entered the work force, I used my genetic inheritance to hone my skills in design. I spent over 40 years staring at objects and analyzing colors, shapes, and textures. I would not call it work because the skills that defined the career positions were second nature to me. Designing a product took less time than it did for me to learn how to ski downhill.

Today, these skills are assets when I create flowerbeds. Yet, having this facility can also be an Achilles heel; sometimes I see more in the garden than is necessary to do my work, and I lose my concentration. Then, if I canvas my staff’s opinion, their fresh perspective will help reset my focus.

My eyes are so discerning that I am severe when evaluating the gardens I’ve designed. Although most homeowners are pleased with what I have done, sometimes I am not. After a project is finished, it remains a work of progress in my head. With closed eyes, I imagine that something is not quite right and I send a message to my brain that somewhere a flowerbed awaits tweaking. No one else sees the need to fine-tune it, only I do.  Even in my private garden, of all who come to admire, few - if any – notice the faults that I perceive to be there.

It is fortunate that acute perception has helped me achieve my career goals. Although this trait sometimes gets in the way, I have come to terms with the affect that it has upon me. I used to regard it as a handicap, but not anymore. If anything, it is my strength; it defines who I am.