Giverney (photo essay)

Photo Essay Contest---      I'm dedicating this photo essay to the man I love more than anything in this world.  He loves to make my dreams come true.    He knew how much I've always wanted to go to Europe and he did everything he could to make sure it would be perfect.  It's been a wonderful 10 years, Honey,  and I pray we have many decades to share together.

********************************************

 We started in the cottage garden which was just around the corner from the entrance.  It took Monet years to design and implement his plans for his magnificent garden, first as a renter and later as the owner of this delightful property. Up until his death, I'm told he continued to seek out unusual seeds for planting.  The cottage garden is laid out in paths so you can wander among the flowers without trampling them.  All the paths were not open for our visit, but I took a photo of the main path which was arched over with trellises on which many different blossoms tangled.

These blue beauties were some of the more unusual delights.  We also spotted some variety of passion flower.  I had heard before we left that scientist were concerned by the fall in the number of bees, but I was delighted to see happy groups of bees humming around many of the flowers.  They seemed happy to ignore the tourists and concentrate on the banquet. 

Have you ever been somewhere--an art museum or a christmas lights display--and feel like there is so much to absorb that you can't possibly take it all in?  I felt that way.  I was anxious not to miss any small beauty.  Lucky for me, my husband is a "the journey is more important than the destination" person. 

Because of the earlier rain, each flower and plant was hung with crystal and I couldn't resist the dazzle or the sun shining through them.

After I'd taken photos of many of the flowers in the cottage garden, we went into the most famous of Monet's gardens, the Japanese garden.  Monet was a big fan of Japanese prints and he wanted to replicate the simple beauty of those prints in a garden.  Ironically, most Japanese gardens are rock gardens or small tea gardens.  However, the Japanese bridges are exactly like those found in Japan (I ought to know since I lived in Japan for 18 months).  Monet's waterlillies are among his most famous paintings and when I saw them floating on reflected sky, it was easy to see why he found them so inspiring.

We had a nice person take a photo of us in the Japanese garden because it's so peaceful and because our mothers always complain that I'm never in any of the pictures because I'm always the one taking the photos.

After we were done in the Japanese garden, we went to look through the cottage.  As we approached the cottage, we were told that the top window was one of two windows in Monet's bedroom. 

We were forbidden to take photos of the interior of the cottage but I snapped this shot of the view from Monet's window.  I can just imagine him sitting up in bed and seeing the riot of color and patchword of green that any artist would be proud to have on his pallette.

Giverney is one of the most beautiful and inspiring places I've ever visited.  I encourage you to go if you ever get a chance.  You will never forget it.

copyright Janna O'Donnell 2007