Trip Report - Giverny, France - Back to Monet's Garden (3 of 3)

Welcome to the final installment of an August visit to Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, France.

(In case you missed, the first two posts, you can find them here and here.)

Without further ado...

Some type of Begonia, I believe...

(Update - Holly's Folly has suggested this could be B. grandis)

Lovely use of Alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle) as edging in an herbaceous border.

I believe this is some sort of milkweed mixed in with some kind of marigold. (Very specific, I know.)

Update -- Holly's Folly has suggested this (and the next photo) are Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow'

New Update: Giverny gardener Enrico has kindly informed me that this is actually Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Gold'. 

It's a beautiful plant -- but please note that there are some potential concerns in warmer parts of the U.S. around the effect this non-native milkweed may have monarch butterflies and their migration. I think Monarch Butterfly Garden provides a good overview of the issue.

A close-up shot of the Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Gold'

I believe this is some kind of Datura, a poisonous genus with the incongruously pretty common name if 'Angel's trumpets'

Update - Holly's Folly has suggested that this flower - and the next two - could be Brugmansia species...

New Update: Gardener Enrico has kindly informed me that the flower in this photo and the one below is Datura metel ‘Oeschberg Violet’. Thanks for the info, Enrico!

Datura metel ‘Oeschberg Violet’, side view

A different kind of Datura

The view of the garden in Giverny from an upper room in Monet's house

Finally, a view of the lily pond. I tried to capture the horizon-less feeling from Monet's famous series of waterlily paintings at the Orangerie museum in Paris. This photo (and the paintings) also make me think of the Japanese art of ukiyo-e, often translated into English as 'pictures of the floating world'

Thank you for joining me on this tour of Giverny. I'll be publishing more posts in the coming weeks based on some recent travels in England and France. If you'd like to be among the first to hear of these posts, you can sign up for a free email subscription here.

Trip Report - Giverny, France - Back to Monet's Garden (2 of 3)

Step back with me into Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, France as we build on last week's post and continue our ramble through the garden...

This is Enrico from Italy. He is one of the gardeners who is lucky enough to call Giverny his 'office'. Enrico was very kind to chat with me for a bit about his work at the garden, whether the garden looked similar in Monet's day (it didn't) and which plants from Giverny might work in my own Tennessee garden. He suggested that I consider Caryopteris x clandonensis (which happens to be blooming in my garden right now) and Oenothera speciosa (probably a bit too wild, from what I've read, but I'm strongly considering a different Oenothera - O. fruticosa - for my garden). Enrico also told me that approximately 70 percent (!) of the flowers in the Giverny garden are annuals, which gives you an idea of the immense amount of work that Enrico and his fellow gardeners do in overhauling the garden each winter and refreshing it anew for each spring, summer and autumn season. Thank you, Enrico!

Tithonia rotundifolia, Mexican sunflower. This is actually another  plant that Enrico recommended. I love Mexican sunflower, but my one attempt to grow it from seed ended in failure.

I believe this is amaranth.

Some type of Lavatera perhaps?

Grape-leaf anemone (and bee), if I'm not mistaken, with perhaps Phlox paniculata in the background?

Update: Gardener Enrico has kindly informed me that this is actually Dahlia 'Jet'. Thanks for the information, Enrico. I'm kind of a dunce sometimes when it comes to confusing dahlia and anemone flowers...

Loads more dahlias, I believe. Gorgeous flowers, although I believe they take some work in my zone (6/7) in terms of lifting the bulbs and overwintering them. Perhaps I'll try someday...

Update: Enrico has confirmed that these are, in fact, dahlias! The cultivar name is 'Othello'.

Love this use of lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina) as an herbaceous border. I may try to replicate it. Although I wonder how much work it takes to keep the border from spreading into the path...?

Nasturtiums! According to Enrico, this is one part of the garden that is historically accurate. Apparently Monet was a big fan of Nasturtiums. Personally, I love Nasturtiums, both their cheery flowers and their interesting rounded foliage. I didn't have much success trying to grow them in Tennessee though. I think it was just too hot here (although I may have tried to grow them in 2012, which was an unusually hot summer). Anyway, they clearly are very happy growing in Giverny. Enrico said they need to cut back these Nasturtiums pretty regularly to keep them from overwhelming the entire path!

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.).

Update: Enrico has told me these are Solidago canadensis. Although S. canadensis would be a native plant in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the U.S., I believe it is considered invasive through much of Europe.

PS - Note that even in regions where it is native, some gardeners find S. canadensis too aggressive to grow as part of a mixed perennial garden bed, although they tolerate or even appreciate it in wilder parts of their property...There are many other goldenrod species which have a reputation as being able to 'play nice' with other plants. I'm growing a couple of those kinder, gentler species myself - S. sphacelata 'Golden Fleece' and S. caesia (wreath goldenrod). I plan to add a few more species (but not S. canadensis) to the garden next spring.

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Trip Report - Giverny, France - Back to Monet's Garden (1 of 3)

A few years ago, before I knew much about gardening (not that I'm saying I know everything now), I had the chance to visit Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, France and was gobsmacked by its floriferous beauty.

So on a trip to Europe last month, I jumped at the chance to return to the Giverny garden once more and share some of its beauty with you on this blog.

(Incidentally, although Monet is best known for his painting, he supposedly said, "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece." Although, you know, he said it French, so it sounded even better...)

For the last couple of decades of his life, I think Monet focused mainly on painting his garden. Some of his most famous paintings are of garden scenes, including his famous series of waterlily paintings on display at the Orangerie museum in Paris. 

Here are some pics from the August garden at Giverny...

(I took lots of photos. Since I don't want to overwhelm anyone, I'll separate the photos into batches and upload them as three separate blog posts over the next week or so. This is post #1...)

The famous lily pond glittering in the early morning sunlight...

I thought the contrast between the soft pink of the (foxglove?) flowers and the spiky (holly?) leaves in the background was eye-catching...

Grape-leaf anemone? Anemones seem to be a favorite plant in parks and gardens in London and Paris these days.

Dinosaur-sized leaves!

I believe this is glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora).

Anyone know what these could be? Dahlias? Peonies? They are outside my realm of expertise...

Not sure about the identity of the star-shaped dark red flower. But I love the contrast with its ruffled pink gladiolus neighbor!

Update: Enrico, a kind gardener at Giverny, has informed me that the red flower is actually Dahlia 'Honka Rouge'. Thanks for the info, Enrico!

Down the garden path... The main part of the Giverny garden is interlaced with these paths leading toward Monet's house, visible here in the background. The paths are not for visitors, but for the gardeners who weave in and out of the lush plantings making magic with trowel, rake and pruners.

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