Monet's Garden

A treat for a dreary winter day. Judy Youngman shares her visit to Monet's garden.



In June of 2017 I had the opportunity to see Claude Monet’s Secret Garden Exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was then that I decided to someday visit the gardens that inspired such beautiful paintings. One year later, I was on a bus excursion from Paris to Monet’s Garden with my husband, filled with excitement and high expectations . . . I would not be disappointed.

Monet’s Garden lies in the picturesque village of Giverny, 80 km west of Paris in northern France. It was here that Monet lived and worked from 1883 until his death in 1926. Monet was a passionate, knowledgeable gardener, whose gardens created the inspiration for many of his famous paintings.

This stunning property covers several acres. In the Clos Normand gardens, flowers of all sizes and shapes are everywhere – geraniums, peonies, lupines, delphiniums, alliums, irises and rhodos to name a few. The central alley features iron arches filled with climbing roses.

The Japanese inspired water garden is not to be missed – large ponds edged with bamboo, weeping willows, flowering trees, lupines and irises. There’s even a little green rowboat sitting quietly out in the water surrounded by water lilies and a quaint bridge, as featured in so many of Monet’s paintings.

Also on the property is Monet’s charming pink pastel house, where we walked through his studio and viewed his brightly coloured blue kitchen and yellow dining room.  

Gazing out the windows to the spectacular gardens below, I imagined him living there, as he had done for so many years.

It was such a highlight to visit this very special place - I left feeling inspired with ideas for my own garden.  It is said that Claude Monet completed at least 2500 paintings, drawings and pastels in his lifetime, yet he once said “my garden is my most beautiful work of art!”   If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend a visit – it’s a garden visit you will never forget.

Next up: Kew Gardens with Christine Dudgeon