Aubrieta

Aubrietia spreads its small white, rose or purple flowers on the ground, covering it with a real colour groundsheet. This spring flower, of the family ‘’Brassicacées’’, is originating from Greece and Far-East and easily grows at high altitudes, giving it the reputation of ‘’mountain flower’’.

Aubrietia has been so called by Michel Adanson, the botanist, in homage to Claude Aubriet, the ‘’Naturalist painter’’ (1665-1742). Its has been cultivated in France since the year 1823.

Not so demanding, Aubrietia likes sunny grounds and ordinary earths. In Giverny, it is planted at the beginning of Marsh along clumps.

Monet particularly liked the simplicity of this wild flower, as well as its blue or mauve colorings. He liked to blend the blue colour of Aubietia with the yellow one of Jonquils and biennial flowers, and also, with other blue flowers like Irises.

Aubrietia is the first flower to bloom in Giverny, as early as at the beginning of spring. From Marsh to July, you can’t miss it in the ‘’Clos normand’’, along large clumps. rose, purple, blue, red or rose Aubrietias are often associated by the gardeners to ‘’Arabètes’’ (Arabis caucasica), with their rose or white shades.