The artist adored waterlilies – and with their beauty and glamour, it’s easy to see why Create your own Monet
MORE than 32 million people attended the Universal Exposition of 1889, a six-monthlong international trade fair held in Paris. Most wanted to gawk at the city’s dramatic new landmark, the Eiffel Tower, but it was an exhibition of waterlilies that caught the eye of artist Claude Monet.
The display was staged by Joseph Bory Latour- Marliac, a botanist and nurseryman from south-west France. He supplied 17 different waterlilies to the event, including 11 developed at his nursery. All were shown to perfection in the water gardens built to showcase innovations in horticulture.
Five years later, Monet placed an order with Latour- Marliac for a number of waterlilies to grow in the pond at Giverny, his house and garden in Normandy. These plants flourished and were the main focus of his artistic attention during the
last 30 years of his life, appearing in close to 250 paintings.
Waterlilies are the undisputed summer flowering stars of the aquatic world, capable of providing a touch of Giverny glamour to any body of water. Often flowering from June until September, these beauties are ideal for planting from March onwards.
Their flowers vary enormously. The cup- or star- shaped blooms range in size from 1in to 16in across and come in shades of white, yellow, pink, red and blue-purple. Often delightfully scented, the single, semi-double or double blooms last anywhere from three to five days before they wither.
Waterlilies are known botanically as nymphaea, a name derived from the Greek word for nymphs, supernatural beings from mythology who protected fresh water.
The aquatic plants are native to temperate and tropical parts of the world, with Nymphaea alba being the only home-grown species.
Until the end of the 19th Century, our native waterlily was the only hardy species available to European gardeners. That all changed with Latour-Marliac, who crossed this white beauty with tender, colourful species from warmer climes, leading to the introduction of many tough varieties in a wide palette of shades.
Today, there are varieties suitable for just about every water feature, from a 6 in-deep container pond set on a patio to a 6ft-deep lake.
Individual plants will produce a succession of pads carried on long stalks, enabling them to spread anywhere from 10 in to more than 7ft across.
For water up to 4ft deep, try Nymphaea ‘ Attraction’ with its crimson, 8 in-wide flowers, or ‘Yellow Sensation’, whose large blooms are held well above the surface. Scented ‘Perry’s Double White’ and copper- toned ‘ Thomas O’Brien’ are perfect in an average garden pond measuring 2ft deep.
Vigorous varieties would swamp a small pond or container water feature, so choose dwarf ones. ‘Perry’s Baby Red’ forms a mat of tiny 3in-wide pads with 2in-wide flowers, and N. tetragona has petite white flowers. Introduced in 1927, ‘Maurice Laydeker’ produces twotone, red-and-white flowers.
Unlike land-loving plants, waterlilies are usually sold in meshsided pots that enable the free movement of water and allow gases to escape. Prior to popping in the pond, spread a thick layer of washed grit over the surface to prevent compost from being stirred up by moving water.
Lower containers slowly into the pond, allowing air bubbles to rise as the compost fills with water. Don’t sink it in too quickly or gravel will be washed off the top. If you can’t reach the bottom easily, thread some length soft wine through each corner of the container and submerge into position.
Keep waterlilies in good shape by removing dead flowers and leaves. Some will fill their containers within several years, resulting in fewer flowers and leaves that are held above the water. Restore vigour by lifting containers, splitting clumps into smaller pieces and replanting into mesh pots.
The undisputed summer stars of the aquatic world