Lilies, closer than Giverny!

Our secretary has sent the following to members:

We shall on 25 July be visiting the Collection nationale de nénuphars at Le Temple-sur-Lot, between Ste-Livrade-sur-Lot and Clairac.

The French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840–1926) created a now much visited garden at Giverny in Normandy, where he lived for the last 43 years of his life. One feature of that garden was his collection of the water lilies that frequently feature in his work. 

What is perhaps less well known is that most of those water lilies came from the nurseries established at Le Temple-sur-Lot by Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac (1830–1911). Born at nearby Granges-sur-Lot, Latour-Marlic was a practising lawyer but devoted much of his energy to creating water lily hybrids. The two men first met at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889.

If we can muster a group of 15 or more, we shall be able to take advantage of the Group Day Pass offered by the nursery. This includes a one-hour guided visit in English starting at 10:30, some free time to wander the gardens at will, and a three-course lunch of local produce in the on-site restaurant set amid bamboos. More information can be found on the nursery website: <https://www.latour-marliac.com/fr/>.

There are a number of other places of interest in the area should any of us wish to continue into the afternoon. Among these is the Musée du Pruneau, just 7 km. away, at Lafitte-sur-Lot.

We have undertaken to give the nursery advance notice of numbers. If you wish to join us, please reply to this email (also indicating whether you will be bringing guests) not later than Sunday 16 July. More details will be sent to takers early the following week.