British gardener takes over at Monet residence

16:44 6th May 2011

Greenhouse enthusiasts may be interested to hear that a British horticulturalist is to take over the upkeep of Monet's famous garden.

From next month, 53-year-old James Priest will become head gardener at Giverny in Normandy, the inspiration for many of the great French artist's paintings and his home for 43 years, the Independent reports.

Mr Priest from Maghull, north of Liverpool, trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew and has worked in the grounds of a succession of large estates in France for the past 26 years.

"This is an enormous honour and I'm only just beginning to realise how daunting a task it will be," he told the newspaper. "The garden seems very simple but the more you look at it you see that it is a very rich garden, a very profound garden."

Run by the Fondation Claude Monet, the gardens at Giverny, 60 miles west of Paris, attract around half a million visitors every year.