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Flowers

Peony

Peonies are an icon of China and the healing flower used by the Greek god Paean. At Giverny, they grow as herbaceous or Japanese tree peonies which have acclimatised to the Normandy climate.


See them

Make sure you see them in April and May! Monet painted them in 1882 and again in 1887. Those artworks are exhibited at Fondation Beyeler in Basel and The National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.

Grow them

These beautifully rustic perennials continue to grow in the garden without many problems and require little special care. They are glad if they get some fertiliser at the start of the season but a bit of neglect does not make them instantly unhappy. After growing for a few years, they need to be divided to revive them.