Thoughts on Gardening in June - Join me in my stroll through Monet’s Garden – Giverney, France

I have been lucky this month to spend time in France – we flew into Paris and spent a couple of days there before moving to the Loire Valley. While in Paris we took the train to Vernon which is just a hop and a skip or actually a short taxi ride to Giverney. This has been on my bucket list long before Jack and Morgan coined the phrase. We had glorious weather and it was fun to share it with the 4 friends that were with us on the trip.

The gardens were much bigger than I thought they would be.

The anticipation just before we walked through the gate was killing me!

Claude Monet’s home looked just like I had thought it would… that pink stucco and green shutters are iconic.

Monet became a master gardener over the years…but his original plantings were purely subject matter for his art.

View of the gardens from the second story master bedroom.

I must get my color palette from Monet – as these are my favorite colors for garden plantings.

How lucky could our timing be? The wisteria on the green bridge was at peak bloom.

The view from the lily pond from his home.

The lily pond was teaming with frogs jumping from lily pad to lily pad!

Top Things to do in June – 

• Now is the time to really start paying attention to the watering part of your job as gardener in tune with your garden. The summer heat comes on strong in June, and hand watering your newer plantings, e.g. roses, will pay off. 

• Remember to shut your sprinkler off if you receive heavy rains - we can hope this happens.

• Check out varieties of perennials at the nurseries you might not see in the spring months – verbascum, agastache, and rudbeckia – find a spot for them – they are wonderful in any garden. 

• Dead head your roses, petunias, verbena, geraniums, and penta – they will reward you with fresh blossoms. 

• Continue to support your roses and climbing vines – they will continue to provide vigorous growth through the summer months 

• Container plantings will benefit from weekly feedings of water soluable fertilizer like Miracle Grow.

Happy gardening- Terry