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There are two beautiful gardens with public access in Giverny. One is the garden of the French Impressionist artist Claude Monet, which is always packed and entry costs €5.50 per person. The other is the garden of the American Museum of Art, a foundation which aims 'to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of America's rich artistic and cultural heritage for the benefit of a diverse audience', and is free.
It is the American Museum's garden which is situated directly across the street from the carpark in Giverny, and I wonder how many visitors don't do their homework and believe they have visited Monet's garden, without realising that it is a 500m walk further down the street? It nearly fooled me, but I was puzzled by not seeing any of the views I knew from photographs and paintings, so eventually I resorted to reading the directions on the noticeboard.
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Opium poppies and asparagus.
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A nice mixed beech hedge underplanted with stachys. I'm a big fan of mixed hedges à la
Hidcote, but in general, the French haven't got the hang of them. In the Loire I frequently encounter garishly combined reddish photinia, bright yellow euonymus and dark green laurel, planted alternately to produce a tricolor hedge. Hmmm...
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A lovely pale yellow scabious, beloved of butterflies on a sunny day (which, sadly, this wasn't).
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But the self heating bumbles were out, visiting the safflower.
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A weeping pear encroaches on some water iris planted in a formal pool.
Susan
4 comments:
Your Lamia textor is Morimus asper. L. textor hasn't got so big antennas.
Ando: Thanks ever so much. It's really good to have an accurate ID. I've checked M.asper, and you are clearly right.
I frequently encounter garishly combined reddish photinia, bright yellow euonymus and dark green laurel, planted alternately to produce a tricolor hedge. Hmmm...
Susan... that is how it is illustrated in ALL the catalogues... and you only get three plants of each... therefore the poor sods don't have a chance to get it right, really, do they!!?
I know, I've seen the catalogues too. Groan...
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