Monet's Gardens at 'Giverny'

On a lighter note I thought I would blog about flowers. But anybody can blog about flowers so I have given it a twist and taken Monet’s Garden at Giverny as the subject.

I always like to read a little about anywhere we are about to visit and on this occasion had made a careful study of the information that explains this garden. I'm the chap on the right! My first surprise was to find it is in two parts. The upper gardens around the house and the water garden are on the lower area below the road.

Margaret in front of the house

The first area to look at is the Clos Normand which is also where you can view inside the house.

Monet settled at Giverny in 1883 and planted the hectare of land which had originally been an orchard but he preferred to plant out with varied flowers.

He liked to mix flowers and let them grow in a disorganised manner, but his blending of the varied colours created beautiful flower beds on either side of a central walk

Iris's and long stemmed grow freely with daises and poppies. Roses climb the iron arches and you can wander along the main and sidewalks which divide the flower beds admiring the varied varieties of flowers.

It is certainly not a place to be missed, especially the Water Garden. In 1893 Claude Monet bought the land lower down and using the waters from the small stream- the Ru – there he created a small pond the first attempt of what was to be a much larger pond, this he planted with Water Lilies –Nymphéas.

Eventually the small pond was made much bigger and the Water Lily Garden, which is famed throughout the world as a result of his paintings, was created.

Here also is the famous Japanese bridge with the wisterias growing over it in profusion. There are weeping willows and smaller bridges but the Japanese bridge is a must to view and possible have your photo taken on.

But as a founder of the ‘impressionist’ style of painting, and his wonderful Water Nymphéas paintings he has made the gardens a must to visit.

After Monet’s death in 1926 his step daughter Blanche looked after the garden, but after the Second Worlds War they became neglected. In 1966 the Academie des Beaux-Arts became responsible for them and in 1977 restoration was started. In 1980 thanks mainly to this work which was greatly helped by donations from the USA, the gardens were opened to the public.

The bit that amused me finally was when standing by the Water Gardens a voice behind me was asking a friend if Monet still looked after the gardens himself. I started to explain some of the story behind the gardens pointing to the bridge and the various plants, and explaining the part his family and then how the restoration came about. After a short while I turned to look behind me to see if the two ladies were still listening and found not just two ladies but a small crowd of about twenty had gathered. It seemed I was amongst the few that like to know before I visit what I shall be looking at.

The Way Forward

We complain about the way our politician’s fail, in our opinion, they fail to lead us on the golden path to prosperity but do we suggest anything to help!

The current problems are down to them or maybe us as we elected them! But then they were the cause because they didn’t follow our words of wisdom! What of the future? It’s a fact that what people have they will be loathe to give up hence the protests in Greece, Cairo, Tunisia and others. So we have to take what we can back but don’t expect much cooperation. The answer is don’t give away anything more.

To start with all Government departments are overloaded. So don’t recruit any more staff, redeploy that which you have. Retire everybody at the same age. In the U.K. that is 65 at the moment, and it should apply to all workers throughout Europe – private or civil service. They won’t agree to that! But why not, it should be a new retirement age for all or out on your ear, they will have to listen. Strike they will cry – if they wish go on then strike, but we should make sure it’s without pay.

The biggest problem is too many people. True we cannot go in for mass extermination of sections of the people. But why keep producing more than we need! The world wide increase in population over the last century has been from 1,650 Million to 6,707 million. True the fertility rate in the developed countries is 1-2 children, but even in the U.S.A. it is 2-3 children. This fertility rate should reduce the numbers that draw on those nations resources. But Sub Saharan Africa and some Middle East countries have a fertility rate of 5-6 children and in some areas 7-8 children. And now with the ease of movement from one country to another, immigration is having a drastic effect on some of the indigenous populations.

As much as one country would like to assist another, we cannot support a massive explosion of population in other countries. And that is exactly what we are trying to do. Our governments must stop giving our money away and spend it more wisely at home. We should reduce any form of benefit that encourages more than a fertility of 1-2 children. I didn’t say stop but taxation after two children would stop much of the unbalance that is occurring in some developed countries by the immigrant population taking advantage of the child benefit allowances.

The use of the motor car draws on the petroleum industry; in the first place the design of electric cars should have greater emphasis. We can produce electricity from nuclear power; thereby our reliance on petroleum will be reduced. Something that will take our power supply needs away from external influence which should be seriously considered. It will also help to reduce climate change by less pollution.

Maybe you don’t agree with these comments. I can think of other ways forward, but maybe your comments may have some, and your opinion on my suggestions are very welcome1

To Blog or not to Blog

The last few months seem to have come and gone. Work on my books and the printing seems to have occupied all of my time, consequently I have seemed to have had a chaotic past twelve months and blogging has got less and less – well I now hope to rectify that and get into a regular routine. First if anyone is interested they can go on line to Amazon.co.uk or .com depending on your geographical location! Click onto patrick c coulson and both paperbacks and kindle sales will be revealed?

I am now back on the volcano and writing diligently for the next book in the ‘Celestial Seven ‘ series but intend to blog as well! And also a small amount of tweeting. So I shall start with a little of my personal life.

For those that have read my blogs in the past – and everyone is welcome to go over old ground and read previous blogs – they are meant to be general and interesting, a quick brief look into things I have done or think. Think is possibly the more boring but should I hope nevertheless give the reader something to conjecture with.

Having changed homes last year and also having some much needed refurbishment on my Tenerife villa has meant a continual tramp of builders – carpenters – conservatory erection men tramping through our life. At this very moment I can see and hear drilling for new locks on the doors in progress. And I still manage to write, still the sun is shining and the temperature is very pleasant – my wife swims in the open pool every day. In England it is still very chilly or so I am reliably informed by my granddaughter who is looking after our house.

The cat is pleased to see us back here – Miss Hiss is what could be loosely described as a feral cat. Having adopted us ten years ago she still will not allow us to touch her and if approached arches her back and hisses at us – hence her name. We where away for eight months last year and within minutes of our return appeared on the doorstep asking for food. We were treated to mice and lizards being placed on our balcony for several days as by way of an explanation of her diet when we were not here. She is back on her favourite seat every day, for most of the day – except for regular meals - and still remains outside at night by choice!

Well for those that might be interested I shall be opening some interest blogs by the end of the week so don’t forget to log in.

Regards to my followers old and new - Patrick