http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bc.edu%2Fbc_org%2Favp%2Fcas%2Ffnart%2Fart%2Fmonet1.html.
"Actual Garden at Giverny".
Claude Monet arrived to his plot of land at Giverny in 1883. Like a blank canvas, he shaped the landscape to suit his personal tastes and his artistic desires. He carefully picked a variety of trees and flowers, often, rare species, and arranged them to transform the previously less interesting land into a beautiful garden. According to www.giverny.org, a website devoted to the history of Giverny, “Monet made a garden full of perspectives, symmetries and colours.� He was obviously, carefully crafting it with its potential as a subject of his artwork in mind.
In 1893, he purchased the land adjacent to his property because it had a pond, which would provide a reflective surface in which he could further study the properties of light ("Claude Monet's Garden..."). To fully manicure and perfect the picturesque view, he even incorporated flowers in the water. These lilies, which were also often difficult to attain, became the subject matter of his series of Water Lilies (Russell).
Monet expanded the viewing experience of the pond in 1895 when he introduced a Japanese bridge into the landscape (Russell). This too became an influential element in his artwork. He enlarged the pond even further in 1901 (Sagner). It is not surprising that so much of his art is focused on this extensive project to which he devoted so much time and effort.
In 1910, the garden was flooded, and much of Monet’s hard work was destroyed. This occurred at the same time as Alice’s death, placing an even greater sense of sadness on the artist (Russell). Understandably, Monet ceased to paint the garden for a few years. Nevertheless, his masterpiece of a garden became even more of a masterpiece as it is now seen in some of the most famous paintings in the world: the Water Lilies.