All in a Garden Green

The Botanical Art Society of the National Capital Region (BASNCR) proudly presents a showcase of the work of its members, "All in a Garden Green" at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Va.

Green Spring Gardens (31 acres) is a public park operated by Fairfax County Park Authority. It includes a historic 18th-century plantation house, "Green Spring", which is the heart of a national historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The park has a wooded stream valley with ponds, a naturalistic native plant garden, more than 20 thematic demonstration gardens, a greenhouse, a plant shop, two gift shops, the historic house, and a horticultural reference library.  The gardens and educational programs focus on practical landscaping techniques that are appropriate for the Washington metro area.  Admission to the park is free.
 
About our theme:

In 1828, English writer Frances Trollope (1779–1863) began a four-year journey around the then United States. Her travels took her up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, across the Allegheny Mountains, and along the east coast from Washington DC to Niagara Falls. In her book “Domestic Manners of the Americans” (1832), she frequently noted the plants she encountered. From the Spanish moss and palmettos of New Orleans, to the mountain laurels of Pennsylvania, to the redbuds, dogwoods, and azaleas around Washington DC, she found this country’s flora a constant delight. Dazzled by the number of plants new to her that she couldn’t name, her advice to her countrymen was “let no one visit America without having first studied botany.”

Given that she spent many weeks at houses near Green Spring, this venue is an ideal spot to display pictures of the kinds of plants that Frances Trollope might have encountered on her American adventure.

A small group of us hung the show this past Monday--thank you to the Exhibitions Committee and volunteers for working with us to present this beautiful show! We look forward to the opening reception next Sunday Sept. 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM; please come by if you get a chance. If you can't see it in person, the next best thing is the on-line exhibition of All in a Garden Green on the BASNCR website.

Shale Violet and New Works

Shale Violet (Viola sororia), watercolor, 11" x 15".

Here is the finished piece, finally -- Shale Violet, photographed under better light.

Below is my next work in progress, the native flame azalea (Azalea calendulacea), still a ways from finished, but coming along. This is the first piece on which I've used the palette of Winsor yellow deep, scarlet lake, and Winsor blue (green shade). The deep yellow seems just about the right color for the flowers, but I'm struggling to get the green shades accurately within the possible range for this palette.

Flame azalea painting in progress

The purples that can be mixed from the Winsor blue/scarlet lake combination can also be difficult--too gray or brown if the balance isn't just right, though beautiful when one can get them just so. You can see a bit of the purple washes in the underpainting of the flowers at this stage. I'm putting in those thin, long red pistils with colored pencil; later on perhaps I'll apply touches of scarlet lake straight from the tube to punch them up. It's always exciting to the working on a new piece!