Everyone knows the iconic paintings of the water lilies and the flower garden path painted by famous impressionistic painter Claude Monet. His paintings show just how much he loved his gardens, but did you know that after WWII his gardens were destroyed and left neglected for years. That is until a call for help was made in the 1970s, and Gilbert was one of the gardeners to answer that call. All of the plants had died, so they had to start from square one. Now the garden is lush and full of blooms and receives 600,000 visitors a year! Even though Gilbert is officially retired, he still helps with the garden every day. With all of the time and energy he has given to help restore the garden back to its original beauty, it was the time he spent with the flowers that he began to know Monet and admire him. I cannot wait for the day that I can see these gardens in person!
