Pelargonium cultivar (Garden geranium)

Planted in island beds along Monet's front porch, garden geraniums formed a lush red-carpet effect with their uniform height. Looking beyond their abundant red or pink blooms, a distinct horseshoe-shaped scorch mark curves along their velvet-green leaves. The leaves of garden geraniums produce polyphenols, serving up a bitter, astringent flavour that makes caterpillars and aphids think twice. 

Digitalis purpurea cultivar (Foxglove)

Monet collected seeds of common purple foxgloves from cliff walks near Dieppe. He favoured their wild wayside charm and towering, tapering spikes of purple flowers that brought colour and texture above his head to his garden. These European natives rely on long-tongued bumblebees for pollination. Their tubular flowers are ideal for these bees to crawl inside and reach the nectar at the base of the floral tube, which narrows towards the bottom.

Delphinium cultivar (Larkspur)

Monet placed delphiniums in narrow beds along his house’s pink façade, and under tree shade where he found the blues most natural and alluring. Delphiniums get their blue hue from anthocyanins reacting to the naturally alkaline conditions within their petals, enticing bee pollinators that perceive this colour more vividly. These high-maintenance plants demand rich feeding and vigilance against voracious slugs who munch on their succulent shoots. 

Hydrangea macrophylla cultivar (Hortensia)

Monet grew mophead hydrangeas along the edges of his water garden, beneath the shade of weeping willows, and in containers near his porch. The colour of wild species and many cultivars changes with soil pH—acidic soil bestows a vivid blue, while neutral to alkaline soil renders them pink or red. To coax out the perfect blue, the artist-gardener fed his soil with peat moss and manure. 

Alcea cultivar (Hollyhock)

Hollyhocks rely on their sturdy stems to support the weight of their cup-shaped flowers, which bloom from the bottom and gradually open upwards to form a column of blossoms. This makes hollyhocks ideal for bridging lower blooms with overhead floral arrangements, a technique Monet employed in his garden. Reaching up to three meters, hollyhocks elevate their myriad hues of red, pink, yellow, white, purple, and even black to great heights.

Lathyrus odoratus cultivar (Sweet Pea)

Lathyrus flowers exhibit the characteristic pea-like structure with butterfly-shaped petals common of legumes. Sweet peas are especially noted for their sweet fragrance and delicate, frilly petals, which come in a wide range of colours. For early blooms, Monet started sweet peas in pots before transplanting and growing them up tall bamboo tripods in spring. He also grew them off-season in his greenhouse for continuous indoor fragrance.

Tagetes erecta (Marigold)

Marigolds are known for their warm-toned flowers of yellow, orange, or red, sometimes in a ruffled pom-pom-like shape. They emit a strong, sometimes pungent, smell, though some varieties have a milder citrus-like fragrance. Monet combined marigolds with black-eyed Susans, cosmos, and gladiolus, as their orange and yellow hues added brilliance to his garden.

Matricaria

Matricaria has pinnately divided, feathery leaves and a sweet, slightly fruity aroma that appeals to our senses. Monet’s quest for flowering plants that exhibited a shimmering quality led him to these flowers. Their thin and translucent petals catch and diffuse the light when it shines from behind, creating a twinkling effect.

Helianthus cultivar (Sunflower)

What endeared the sunflower to Monet was not only its distinct, huge and heavy flowerhead, but also its height that allows their yellows to contrast harmoniously with the blue sky. He also liked their black centres, which he found in other Asteraceae varieties like African daisies and black-eyed Susans, as they applied a stippling effect to his garden canvas.