Here are some close-ups of the flowers in my version of Monet's garden.

After visiting Monet's house and garden (called Giverny, located at Vernon, France), I knew I'd have to recreate it in miniature one day. I've been a fan of Monet's since I "discovered" him in college. The day I spent at Giverny was one of the best I've ever spent.

Gardens of Delight

When the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts (NAME)  held their National Houseparty in Arlington, Virginia, in 1973, and the theme was "Gardens of Delight," I knew the time had come to realize my dream.  I convinced Betsy Johnson, a fellow miniaturist who knew how to create flowers (I'd never made any previously), to teach me and guide me.  We researched what flowers actually grew in Monet's garden at the time of year we chose (late spring, early summer).  Our only aberration was to include the nasturtiums on the path to soften it a bit.

Zillions of Individual Petals and Leaves

We painted oriental rice paper the colors of the flowers and leaves we wanted and used special punches to cut out the petals and leaves.  We assembled each flower, one at a time, experimenting until we got them just right.  Betsy "invented" each species of flower, then we made lots of them.  For example, we made eight or nine dozen irises in various colors.  We duplicated Monet's special orange-red poppies and  made delphinium, hollyhocks, tulips, forget-me-nots, aubrietia (ground cover) and  climbing roses in three colors for the arches. Betsy created stunning peony bushes and assembled the flowers into a realistic-looking garden.  There must be a zillion individual petals and leaves in our garden!

Calendar Backdrop

We found a picture of the facade of Monet's house in a calendar and used it for the background.  We added pieces of Ming fern to the background, then placed tulips and forget-me-nots in front of it to simulate the beds just in front of the house.  To create perspective, the arches get smaller as they get further from the house and  the path narrows as it goes back  The entire piece is about 22" wide by 15" deep and contains about 10,000 leaves and petals.

Read More in Miniature Collector

The garden was very well received at the Houseparty.  I wrote an article about it for Miniature Collector magazine (September 1996).  Betsy and I later wrote an article on how to make some of the flowers (Miniature Collector, April 2000).  The garden has been on display at my local miniatures shop, Miniatures from the Attic in Falls Church, VA, and at many libraries and retirement homes in the Northern Virginia area.  It was also on display at the Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, VA, for three months.

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