The Magic of Monet's Garden: His Planting Plans and Color Harmonies [Hardcover]

Derek Fell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2007

"Gardening was something I learned in my youth. I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers"
- Claude Monet

Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) created a magnificent five-acre garden that he considered to be his greatest artistic achievement. It was restored in 1980 and is now the most visited garden of its size in the Western world. With its spectacular color combinations and distinctive structural elements, the Monet garden at Giverny, France, inspires the dreams of thousands of gardeners.

Award-winning garden writer and photographer Derek Fell has visited Giverny many times and always admired the beauty of its plantings and the subtle balance of colors. After years of carefully studying Monet's design and plantings, he shares the artist's secrets. In The Magic of Monet's Garden, Fell reveals Monet's breathtaking color harmonies and describes how the artist "painted" his living masterpiece. He guides the reader on how to scale down Monet's ideas for the home garden, with attention to:

• Understanding the laws of colors
• Building color harmonies
• Creating innovative combinations
• Recognizing the power of monochromatic plantings
• Using black in the garden
• Working with structure and form
• Building rhythm and surprise
• Capitalizing on sunlight and shadow
• Incorporating water features
• Attracting birds and butterflies.

With 175 color photographs and illustrations and a dozen detailed planting plans, The Magic of Monet's Garden will inspire and instruct home gardeners to create their own versions of Giverny.

(20071215)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A tour of the famous garden with some 200 lush color photographs, a landscape plan...and details on Monet's favorite plants. (Book News 200902)

[Dell's] beautiful photographs are blessed with captions that actually identify the plants pictured, sometimes down to the cultivar name. (Marianna Greene Dayton Daily News 20090821)

Glorious ... a delicious treatise on the mechanics of this famous painter's garden. (Scripps Howard Wire Story 20071231)

More than 200 colour photographs and a dozen planting plans, and secrets for creating the luminescent quality of [Monet's] gardens. (The Globe and Mail 200711)

You'll be inspired by Monet's color combinations ... for your own masterpiece.... When you're done you can boast to the neighborhood that you keep the Monet in the yard. (Style at Home 20071208)

In essence a lesson on how to design an artistic garden. (National Garden Clubs, Inc. 20071026)

Offers a window into the mind of ... one of the most gifted flower gardeners of the 20th century. (Joel M. Lerner The Washington Post 200712)

Lush with images.... Artists and those who appreciate beauty ... will enjoy some time meandering in Claude Monet's garden, (Carolyn Leitch Globe and Mail 20071201)

This recent offering from Fell is one to treasure.... [It] will appeal to photographers and to gardeners. (Canadian Camera 20071207)

Fell reveals [Monet's] breathtaking color harmonies at Giverny and [shows] how to scale down his ideas for the home garden. (The National Post 20071204)

Details the painter's gardening techniques, structural accents and favorite plants, with beautiful photographs and a number of helpful diagrams. (Nancy Schoeffler The Hartford Courant 20071220)

This beauty will make your imagination soar. (Helen Halpenny The Lanark Era 20081208)

This beauty will make your imagination soar. (Helen Halpenny Review-Mirror (Westport, ON) 20071025)

Delicious ... glorious.... The Magic of Monet's Garden will soon be bruised and battered. (Maureen Gilmer Scripps Howard News Service 20080125)

[Fell's] photographs are the next best thing to visiting the living canvas that the famous Impressionist created. (Jessica Damiano Newsday (NY) 20070916)

Fell reveals Monet's breathtaking color harmonies and describes how the artist "painted" his living masterpiece. (Rob Mooy Kingston This Week 20071013)

Fell offers a loving portrait of [Giverny], with glossy pictures and reproductions of Monet's paintings. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 20071023)

What a great gift this would be for lovers of art, history and garden design. (Marianne Binetti Seattle Post-Intelligencer 20071218)

I really enjoyed this book.... it gives insight into Monet's thinking and his love of Giverney, the garden he created. (Ian Munt Sudbury Star 20071208)

Offers a window into the mind of one of the ... most gifted flower gardeners of the 20th century. (St. Petersburg Times 20071215)

My favourite this year ... Not as good as a plane ticket, maybe -- but a lot cheaper. (Mary Fran McQuade Beach Metro Community News 20080401)

Offers a window into the mind of one of the...most gifted flower gardeners of the 20th century. (Joel M. Lerner Salisbury Post 20081212)

A delicious treatise on the mechanics of the famous painter's garden. (Maureen Gilmer Record Searchlight, Redding, CA (wire story) 201006)

Gardeners looking to emulate Monet's vivid approach will find planting plans in Fell's book. (Romantic Home )

Major themes and small anecdotes will educate the gardener and inspire thoughts about how to incorporate some of Monet's practices. (Mariana Greene The Dallas Morning News )

It's nearly as good as a trip there, especially in these budget-conscious times. (Mary Fran McQuade Vaughan Today )

A stunningly beautiful book, its photographs are breathtaking... everyone can appreciate artistic perfection. (Gloria Hildebrandt Escarpment News )

About the Author

Derek Fell is an award-winning garden designer and photographer whose articles are published worldwide. He is the author of more than one hundred gardening books and calendars, including Firefly Books' Encyclopedia of Hardy Plants and Encyclopedia of Garden Design and Structure. Derek Fell lives in Pennsylvania.

(200712)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (August 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554072778
• ISBN-13: 978-1554072774
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource for Monet's gardens at Giverny, May 25, 2011

By 

Student - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Magic of Monet's Garden: His Planting Plans and Color Harmonies (Hardcover)

I bought this book to use for a research paper on Monet's garden at Giverny, and it was extremely useful. Fell goes into color theory, specific plants Monet used and why, as well as some information about the flowers themselves. All this information was supported with nice pictures of the garden and a few diagrams of some of the plantings (for use to explain color relationships)

The only problem I had with the book is that except for a brief in-text mention, he doesn't give sources for some quotes or other information. I really could have used those when writing my paper, but I found some of them in my other sources.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book!, May 2, 2010

By 

Ivy Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Magic of Monet's Garden: His Planting Plans and Color Harmonies (Hardcover)

This is such a lovely book; my little grandaughter is coming to spend the summer with me, & I can't wait to share this with her. As a lover of books AND Monet, this really 'fit-the-bill'! The delivery was ultra-fast & the quality is fantastic. I'm delighted when I'm dealing in finery & excellence~ THANK you!

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, August 14, 2008

By 

silky69 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic of Monet's Garden: His Planting Plans and Color Harmonies (Hardcover)

This is a must-have book to read to your child. It conveys the wonderment of childhood, nature, colors, and art along with the wonderment of Monet and his love for beauty. The illustrations are outstanding. I love this book.