 inter
is a time of purification, cleansing, making space for the new to arise.
Winter is a time of evaluation. Looking for the bare bones bereft of flesh,
we can better see the structure and decide if it can support our intentions
or if it needs modification. Winter, cold and dark, is a time to experience
the empty space, to embark on our personal journey, to look for our star.
In winter our gardens, like ourselves, must have the will and determination
to make it through the months of darkness—to face the cold and wind
and yet survive. Patience is required during these dormant times, as well
as trust that transformation is taking place and that spring will come again.
Gardening for soul enrichment—purification, evaluation, experiencing
the empty space—is a completely different approach than gardening to
satisfy the ego. Faith is expressed by the soul gardener who trusts the
dormancy, the fallow times. Treasure the emergence and be gentle and protective
of your soul during adverse conditions. There will be a flourishing. |
 |
Grand Allée at Monet's Garden, Giverny, France
|
| The
Garden Monet Created |
| "This is where
Claude Monet lives, in this never-ending feast for the eyes. It is just
the environment one would have imagined for this extraordinary poet of tender
light and veiled shapes, for this man who has touched the intangible, expressed
the inexpressible, and whose spell over our dreams is the dream that nature
so mysteriously enfolds, the dream that so mysteriously permeates the divine
light." |
| Octave
Mirbeau, L'ART DANS LES DEUX MONDES, "Claude Monet," March 7, 1891 |
| Claude Monet's
gardens were a continual inspiration to him and today they live on inspiring
thousands of people who visit them each year. There are many lessons we
can learn from the way Monet designed his gardens: using succession planting
by weaving bulbs and annuals into perennial borders to provide color for
all seasons; using scale and borrowed landscape to increase the visual size
of the garden; using large blocks of monochromatic colors for impact or
placing complementary colors next to each other for increased intensity;
using specific color to increase atmospheric effects of mist or sunlight;
and using reflections of the sky and landscape on the surface of water as
a design feature. |
| If you decide
to plan your own flora composition, establish your plant palette by proceeding
through these steps: |
Establish
your needs:
- Time of
bloom desired (spring, summer, autumn or winter interest).
- Colors
that please you and that complement your environment or home interiors.
- Time and
cost of installation and maintenance, including a watering system, soil
improvement and plants.
|
Select your
plants:
- Familiarize
yourself with bulbs, annuals, perennials, vines, shrubs, grasses and
trees.
- Learn
which plants are native to your area.
- Note the
special characteristics of the plants you are considering, such as mature
size, shape, texture, as well as color.
- Pay attention
to the cultural requirements of the plants you are considering, including
climate, sun, water, soil type and fertilizer.
|
| Create your
personal plant palette. List the plants you know will bloom in your chosen
colors at the same time in your climate. The more specific you are, the
shorter your list will be. |
| The garden
design on the following pages use Monet's color theories and planning ideas.
The Petite Allée design with rose arches is presented in a scale
many of us can plant in our gardens using five-foot-wide arches that are
commercially available. It features plants and colors inspired by Monet's
"Grande Allée." |
This design
can be followed precisely, or can serve as a take-off point for you to create
your own painterly garden with layers of color and texture. The black line
plans show the layout of all the shrubs and perennial plantings, which are
the mainstay of this garden design. The key for this design along with the
color illustrations designate where annual bedding plants and bulbs are
to be planted for continual color. You may want to use these designs as
a model for your own garden plans.
|
| Instructions
to create a Petite Allée as well as instructions about Spring planting
appear in the Garden Design section of the Spring
Newsletter. |
| A
General Planting Plan for this garden appears in the Garden Design section
of the Summer Newsletter. |
| Instructions
about Autumn planting appear in the Garden Design section of the Autumn
Newsletter. |
From
Elizabeth Murray's Monet's Passion.
|
| Return
to top of page. |
