An Overview
Although Lilla Cabot Perry was especially interested in depicting flowers with women and children, she was by no means the only painter of the time exploring the theme. Garden scenes are credited for accelerating the plein-air¬ style of Impressionist painting (Herbert, 259) and some of the most influential members of the movement traveled throughout France documenting these sites of suburban middle-class leisure. Unlike Perry, however, these artists rarely depicted flowers indoors, unless under inclement weather (White 61).
Claude Monet: Among the most prized Impressionist works are Monet’s Giverny water garden scenes. Years before, however, Monet rented gardens in Argenteuil, where he became an avid gardener (Herbert 259). One of his pieces done during that period, Gladioli (1876) is crowded with blossoms with his wife walking around the garden. 
However, Robert Hebert points out that Monet does not equate her with the flowers, but that she is instead patrolling the garden as the mistress of the property (Herbert 260). The prominence of the flower-bed creates an enclosed view that brings out the individual plant’s brushstrokes.
Auguste Renoir: Unlike Monet, Renoir’s garden scenes were more focused on figures, reflective of his adoration of women and children. In his Girl with a Watering Can (1876), he paints a child with a tiny toy watering can in a beautiful garden. Robert Herbert points out that the scene gives off a sense of innocence by separating the carefree girl from “work and life’s harsh realities” (Herbert, 188). However, Renoir’s figures are not of specific people (like Perry’s daughters) and therefore more idealistic.
Among the works Renoir and Monet did side-by-side were two still lifes in 1869 of flowers and fruit. Monet’s piece, like his garden scenes takes an innovative angle as he looks down on the scene. Renoir’s scene, meanwhile, is symmetrical, balanced, and more traditional (White 61).
John Sargent: American painter, John Sargent, shared with Perry a love for travel and the classics. Most known for his portraits, Sargent’s most renowned piece may be his Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1885-6), a scene of two young girls lighting Chinese lanterns in a garden. The innovative lighting due to the lanterns and the scenery bring out the beauty and innocence of the girls. However, just like Renoir’s work, the piece lacks a personal connection and received more widespread critical acclaim than Perry’s portraits of her daughters.
Images:
Monet, Claude. Gladioli. 1876. Detroit Institute of Arts.
Renoir, Auguste. Girl with a Watering Can. 1876. Washington, National Gallery.
Sargent, John. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. 1885-6. Tate Gallery, London.