Inspired by the 106th American Association Of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo™ hosted by the Twin Cities, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory will showcase a Summer Flower Show influenced by Impressionist masters Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Cezanne. The Impressionist Summer Flower Show will be open to the public April 28th through September 30th from 10am – 6pm.

The flowers and plants chosen for the Summer Flower Show feature the artists’ favored roles in their paintings and personal gardens. Visitors will see the sunflowers that inspired Van Gogh, the lavender Cezanne loved, and the nasturtiums that Monet made famous in his paintings of Giverny.

The horticulturists  also integrated Monet’s preferred garden design elements using monochromatic, adjacent and opposite color harmonies. He commonly used complimentary colors on the color wheel, often with a spin on these partnerships by introducing another key color (example: red, pink and silver). Combinations of hot colors for sunsets, cool colors for sunrises, and blues in shady areas, Monet also created plant bands through an arrangement of narrow parallel beds. These plant bands created exaggerated lines of perspective giving the impression that paths disappear into infinity.

Flowers featured in the Impressionist show, and the artist they represent, are as follows:

Monet – Forget-me not’s, Ox Eye Daisy or Shasta Daisy, Sunflower, Cosmos, Iris, Carnations, Lavender, Dahlia, Geraniums, Hollyhock, Rudbeckia, Asiatic lily, Nasturtiums.

Renoir – Datura, Lavender, Dahlia, Roses, Agapanthus, Artichoke, Cyperus papyrus.

Van Gogh – Sunflower, Iris, Roses, Italian Cypress.

Cezanne – Lavender

The Summer Flower Show always displays the greatest plant diversity of any of the five Sunken Garden Flower Shows, as well as the longest season.