When we stayed with Christian and Edith in June, one of the reasons for doing so was to visit the artist Claude Monet's famous garden at Giverny. Christian and Edith live about 15 minutes away from Giverny, but have never visited the garden - quite enough nature on their doorstep to keep them occupied I think, and they both prefer wilder places.Monet's garden is probably on most visitors to France's 'must-see' list. It was on mine, and up till June, I had not seen it. Now that I have, I can report that it is indeed a very beautiful garden, jam packed full of very prettily arranged plants, and slightly less appealing numbers of other visitors, including some very pushy photographers who hog the best vantage points. It is not somewhere I will feel the need to visit again, although I am pleased to have seen it now. (The reason relatively few people appear in the photographs I took is that the paths are all extremely narrow, and many of them are roped off, so one can aim the camera up the length of the garden and not capture a single person on the path because there is no access it -- you can look, but not perambulate.)
Susan
7 comments:
Pictures of Giverny are always welcome. I'd like to go in June when it's at its peak; we've only been in September and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much was in bloom then.
But I expected Monet's garden to be my favorite in France, and it's not. I like to think that when I have amassed a fortune, my garden will be more wonderful. I'll be hiring legions of gardeners, no expense spared, blue poppies in every corner, ancient cedars, not a weed in sight. And of course, bananas.
It's nice to see and to visit once, and once was certainly enough for me.
I really am not comfortable in crowds, especially tourist crowds who are all in one place for the same reason. It just makes me crazy. I am fine in city situations where everyone is doing his own thing.
That's today's episode of Insights Into Walt's Psyche. Tune in again next week...
Carolyn
Susan says that she is curious now - what was your favorite French garden?
Walt - I think you had problems with the crowds at Giverny because you have gorn native!
I went to Giverny several years ago with Ken and Walt and I loved it. Just like Walt, I used to hate touristy crowds. Now, with Photoshop, I don't mind anymore. As long as I can take pictures, I'll remove, in most cases, any unwanted person or detail. And that is a challenge!
Favorite French garden? The knockout one is at Apremont sur Allier--but please realize that I don't have a big sample. We stopped going to gardens you have to pay for once I saw I could get my plant fix free in public parks, flowery villages, glimpses of potagers through a gate, and the B&Bs where we stay. Another fave is a small private garden (open to the public in its season) near Mortagne au Perche.
I am being unfair to Monet's garden of course. It is a domestic garden created in the 19th century, and never designed to cope with the hundreds of visitors it now gets. It is unfair to judge it with modern eyes and tastes – those narrow paths and great long narrow beds look mean and old fashioned to the contemporary garden enthusiast.
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