Images of Landscapes and Wild Flowers: June 2019

Monet's Garden

The impressionist artist Claude Monet lived at Giverny for 43 years, until his death in 1926. During his time there, apart from producing many artistic masterpieces, he also indulged his passion for gardening. He developed the magnificent garden that is now owned by The Claude Monet Foundation and is open to the public.

On our recent trip through France we called in for our fourth visit to the garden. We first went there in 1986, just a few years after it had opened and virtually had the garden to ourselves. Each visit has seen tourist numbers increased and on this occasion it was unbelievably busy. Not only were the house and garden busy, but the whole of the village of Giverny seems to have been swamped by people from all over the world who want to see where the artist lived and worked.

Monet's House

The house is also worth a tour and is included in the ticket price, but on this occasion we gave it a miss. Just a bit too busy.

The garden of an Impressionist

Irises were very predominant on this visit, the plants in flower vary with the season of course.

In 1893 Monet bought a piece of land across the road from his garden, diverted a stream from the river Epte and began the creation of his water garden. Very different in style from his original garden, the Clos Normande, it is now accessed through an underpass from the main garden.

The Japanese style bridges over the famous lily pond are a very popular location for a photograph.

Cantobre, in The Aveyron, France.

This page will be developed over the coming weeks, particularly with images of the many species of orchid we discovered in our time in Cantor.

Feel free to comment, contradict, ask questions, or discuss.

We have recently returned from two weeks in the beautiful Aveyron village of Cantobre. The village was built from the remains of an old castle built by the Knights Hospitalier. It later became the home of local miners and gradually fell into disrepair as the population migrated to the cities. In more recent times the village houses have seen a revival and many of them are now restored, many of the 35 houses are holiday homes and gites, but there is a resident population of fifteen, very lucky people.

Perched on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the valley of the river Dourbie, Cantobre is a paradise for wild flowers, particularly the orchids. There is much to explore, on foot, bicycle, or by car, it is a spectacular setting, whatever your choice of outdoor activity. Our hosts, Lionel & Peggy were so welcoming and did everything possible to make our stay so memorable.

https://www.casteldecantobre.co.uk

Gite Griffon at Castel Cantobre. Which reminds me, it's a great place for bird watchers too, we frequently watched Griffon Vultures from the terrace.

Cantobre

Castel Cantobre. our self contained Gite was a part of this fantastic property.

Views of Cantobre from the Dourbie Valley.

The Dourbie Valley in the morning rush hour. What a view to wake up to. This was taken from the terrace of Griffon Gite.

And the afternoon view to return back to after a day of orchid hunting. Not much changes, just the angle of the sun.

The last of the evening sunshine falls on a neighbours tree. This view goes very nicely with a glass of something grown not too far away.

Exploring on foot from Cantobre, just two or three kilometres revealed at least 20 different species of orchid. Hers are just two of the more prolific ones, a small, but nicely marked example of a Monkey Orchid and a Green Winged Orchid.

Here are some views of Cantobre from the northern side of this beautiful ancient village.

Standing on it's rocky outcrop, it is easy to see why it was chosen as the site of a chateau.

The D145 passes just under the village. Cars aren't exactly banned from the village, but it's best left to a few locals to negotiate the twists and turns of the steep cobbled street that runs up to the church. There's plenty of parking at the bottom of the village, enjoy the walk through the old lanes, it's only a very small village after all.

Surrounded by wooded slopes, Cantobre peeps over the tree tops.

Don't forget to come back and see more of the area and the wild flowers around Cantobre and the surrounding area.

Some of the orchids growing in the immediate area around the village.

Orchis Maculate, the early purple orchid.

Orchis Purpurea, or Lady orchid. Some fine specimens around here grew up to around knee high.

White Helleborine.

Ophrys Aymoninii, an endemic species that grows only in The Aveyron.

Military Orchid.

Ophrys Insectifera, or Fly Orchid.

Monkey Orchids.

Ophrys Passionis

Ophrys Aranifera

Orchis Anthropophora, or Man Orchid.

Many more orchids to follow, I will get round to naming them too, but for now here are a few pictures from inside the village of Cantobre.

Looking out over the rooftops from the upper part of the village.

The church, right at the top of the village, was built on the site of a 12th century castle, but that goes for most of the village.

The stained glass windows offer a splash of colour to the otherwise simple interior.

The view along the valley from the steps of the church.

Mind the steps, they're a bit uneven!

Down the alleyways between the houses.

It really is life on the edge for the residents of Cantobre.

There are views of the valley and the river Dourbie from every part of the village.

The main square seems a grand title, but this washing area would have been a congregating place for villagers in the past.

The main 'road' up through the village is lined with irises. Most towns and villages in France have them by the road in. Some references say they are planted as a welcome, some say to ward off evil. Whatever they are for, they make a delightful guard of honour through this small village.

This was taken from the highest point in the village, a rocky outcrop much like the two you can seen the right of the picture. This one just happens to be part of the garden belonging to our hosts, Lionel & Peggy.

Lionel's immaculate vegetable garden. It must feel like gardening on the edge of the world as the cliff drops away beneath the lettuces. What a view!

Time to add a few more of the flowers that can be seen in the immediate environs of Cantobre. All of these images were taken within a few minutes walk of the village.

Aqualiga, prolific in some of the shaded parts around the village, often on the edge of woods. This was part of a large patch down by the river, where the Trevezel meets the Dourbie.