“Monet’s Garden” at the New York Botanical Garden

If you have never been in Giverny, France and do not plan a trip anytime soon, you might consider visiting “Monet’s Garden” at the New York Botanical Garden for a taste of what you are missing. Organized by Paul Hayes Tucker, the Monet scholar, it is not a painting show, though it does include two representative garden-inspired Monet canvases. 

Claude Monet was a keen gardener and once reflected that perhaps flowers were the reason he became a painter. This exhibition explores the legacy of his idyllic garden in Giverny by transforming the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory into a floral masterpiece of diverse plants, bold colors, and dramatic design. Monet’s most famous subjects, water lilies, many of them the varieties he grew, are featured in the Conservatory Courtyard Pools.

 Two Monet’s works painted at Giverny --one which has never been publicly exhibited in the United States--are on display in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s Rondina and LoFaro Gallery.

Also on display in the Ross Gallery are Seasons of Giverny, photographic portraits of Monet's iconic garden revealing the beauty of Monet’s garden as it exists now.

“Monet’s Garden” at the New York Botanical Garden runs through Oct. 21.

While the admission fee is $20 during the week and $25 on weekends, it includes admission to all gardens and open buildings, and includes using the tram, which runs throughout the garden (easy on - easy off at any of the designated stops).

For driving directions, please go to http://www.nybg.org/visit/directions.php#car

The Botanical Garden is also accessible via public transport:

Take the Metro-North Harlem local line to Botanical Garden Station. Walk across Southern Boulevard to the Garden's Mosholu Gate entrance. It is just 20 minutes from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan! 

If you prefer the Subway take the B, D, or train 4 to Bedford Park Blvd Station. From the station exit take the bus Bx 26 east to the Garden's Mosholu Gate entrance or walk eight blocks down the hill on Bedford Park Blvd to the end (approximately 20 minutes). Turn left onto Southern Blvd and walk one block to Mosholu Gate entrance.