Calme's Neck

The Shenandoah River at Calme's Neck

A few Saturdays past I joined the Virginia Native Plant Society's Piedmont Chapter on a walk at Calme's Neck. This site is registered by VNPS as a unique area full of native plants, some quite unusual, and is on private land. One of the VNPS members who lives in this development hosted the group.

After driving up and around some steep curves on a gravel road for several miles, I arrived a little later than the announced 10 AM meting time. Our hike leader, Gary Fleming, a gentleman who has been mapping the flora of Virginia for the past 30 years for the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora, was about to conclude his introductory talk. There is probably not a corner of the state that he has not covered at some time or another. There were about 25-30 of us in the group--some of the VNPS chapter members have been visiting this particular site for the past 21 years.

Gary Fleming with VNPS hikers

We started our hike near the top of a hill and walked towards some rocky high bluffs overlooking the Shenandoah river. The just-budding trees were bare enough to allow spectacular views of the farms on the other bank and the distant mountains on the other side of the valley.

The rock ledges sheltered a variety of mosses, early Saxifrage (Saxifraga virginiensis), and ferns, among them walking fern, which I've only seen once before in Maryland.

Flower Buds of Early Saxifrage

Rock ledge with mosses, walking fern (on upper left ledge) and saxifrage

Rare rose moss (Rhodobryum rosea)

Beyond the bluffs, the hill sloped down and the trail parallelled the river. Virginia Bluebells grew thickly along this floodplain, but with spring so late, their flower buds were still pink and rolled up tight. There were also both Dutchman's Breeches and Squirrel Corn plants here and there, and one of the ladies on the hike (they were all so knowledgeable!) explained the differences between these two very similar plants: the "breeches" of the Squirrel Corn are much tighter, resembling the Bleeding Heart, the leaves are bluer, and true to their name, the Squirrel Corn has a small underground tuber that resembles a grain of corn (we didn't dig one up to verify this).

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Squirrel Corn (Dicentra eximia)

After a while the floodplain narrowed out and we turned inland to walk up a very steep hill that was covered with spring flowers. Twin leaf, a low-growing plant with star-shaped white flowers that I had never noticed before, grew all over the slope. There were also trout lilies, but only one of these in bloom. The more knowledgeable members of the group explained that trout lilies must develop two leaves before they will bloom, and the individual plants found in these woods don't do this very often, although in other regions they do bloom profusely.

Twin Leaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)

At one point on the slope I found something among the carpet of leaves that I though might be a dead bird, but upon closer examination it turned out to be a huge owl pellet, with tiny bones imbedded. It was relatively fresh, indicating a large own had been here recently--a barn owl, or something more picturesque?

Owl pellet

Back at the top of the hill, I eventually saw our parked cars through the tree trunks, so we had hiked around in a big circle. I was among the laggards at the rear, and most of the other folks had already driven down the gravel road to have our brown-bag lunches by the river. Our picnic site was a lovely grassy spot  by the banks of the Shenandoah where the residents of this private enclave had placed a picnic table. It was nice opportunity to get to meet the other members, and quite by coincidence, one of the young ladies in the day's hike turned out to be someone I had been corresponding via Email at the botanist's office in Shenandoah National Park.

Cormorants perch on trees along the Shenandoah River

Our hostess, Blanca, had been born in Argentina, and naturally, we spoke a bit in Spanish.  As we ate our lunch, we were amused by a group of cormorants flying around on the other bank and diving into the river. I didn't know that cormorants strayed this far inland from coastal areas, but was told that they come regularly to the Shenandoah during their molting season.

All the folks I met were very congenial, and I will definitely be joining VNPS for more hikes in the future. It's a great way to get to know the many beautiful natural treasures in this area!

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

The Rare Fringed Blue Gentian

Fringed Blue Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita).

This year the Botanical Artists Society National Capitol Region (BASNCR) Annual Exhibition is focusing on native plants. Looking for a native plant to illustrate, I remembered my field sketch and photos of the endangered Blue Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) that I had come across a few years back at Soldier's Delight when I lived in that area (see post excellent-adventure-at-soldiers-delight).

I dug the sketch and photos up and chose one I particularly liked, with the seed pods forming and strong side lighting, for the main part of the composition. On the lower right side I added two flowers showing some of their lovely details. The flowers of gentians open fully only in bright sunlight and begin to close as the sun starts to go down.

Following the Fertilized Orchid

Fertilized flower development (on right).

Continuing my observations of orchid fertilization, this is what the developing ovary of the fertilized phalaenopsis hybrid orchid looks like after a couple of weeks plus a few days. The thickening of the inferior ovary with its ridges is very noticeable now, compared with the unfertilized flower on the left. The fertilized flower is losing its color and the petals are fading. A seed pod should develop eventually (orchids are notoriously slow in this respect).

Here is what the front of the fertilized orchid looks like:

Fertilized Phalaenopsis hybrid after approximately one week.

Fertilized Phalaenopsis hybrid after two weeks plus a few days.

Unfortunately, the hand pollination of the other variety of orchid hybrid did not "take" at all--after about ten days those flowers faded and fell off. I figure the pollen grains must not have made proper contact with the stigma, or they were not quite ripe, so the pollen tube did not develop at all. Two days ago I decided to give it another try--this time I separated the two tiny pollen sacs and attached one to the sticky substance on the stigma. The same reaction observed before, of the tips of the tiny "bonnet" on the column closing is starting to take place. Only time will tell if fertilization has been successful this second time.

Blue Gentian: the Finished Painting

Blue Gentian (Gentiana scabra) watercolor, 13.5" x 14.5"

Here at last is the finished painting of the Blue Gentian. This is my entry for Brookside Garden's Botanica 2014 exhibition, which will be on view from June 28-Aug. 8, 2014.

Botanical Observations

Fertilized orchid flower.

In the attempt to better understand the botany of orchids, I decided to hand-pollinate a couple of the orchids I have blooming around the house and observe what happens. I took one of my small painting brushes and detached the two tiny pollen sacs (pollinia) from the anther of one flower and deposited these on the stigma of another (the pollen sacs in the flower above were left intact). The pollen sacs seemed to have a sticky substance that gladly stuck to the stigma. I did this proceedure on two of the flowers of this unnamed species (the mystery hybrid purchased at a Florida roadside stand).

Compare fertilized orchid flower (on left) with unfertilized flower (on right).

About four days later I looked and there were some noticeable differences between the flowers that had been fertilized and the others: the column had subtly changed color and appeared slightly swollen. The next morning I took these photos in bright light to look more closely--voila!

Comparing the fertilized flower on the left with the unfertilized on on the right, the most remarkable change was that the tiny appendages on either side of the column that forms a little bonnet over the anther had moved down to clasp each other and enclose the column. The fake "bee" formation on the labellum that lures and guides the pollinator had withered and lost all coloration, signalling to the prospective bee that the flower was now closed for business.

In fact, the color of the entire labellum had changed to a dark red and the petals and sepals were starting to become papery and thin, another indication the flower would wane soon. I wish I had a microscope-type camera that would allow me to photograph even more closely, perhaps look at a dissected flower to see what is going on inside, but that is beyond my budget at the moment.

Pencil sketch of the two orchid  flowers.

For now, I will content myself observing how the seed pod develops (hopefully one will develop) and recording the process in sketches. And perhaps I'll pollinate some of my other orchids later on, to observe how different species behave. It's so fascinating--no wonder there are so many natural and man-made orchid hybrids!

Blue Gentian: from Sketch to Painting

Blue Gentian - pencil sketch.

In the last couple of weeks I've been working on turning my completed sketch of the Blue Gentian (Gentiana scabra) into a full-color watercolor painting. The first part of the process was to trace the outlines of the pencil sketch with ink onto tracing paper, then transfer the line work onto watercolor paper. This is usually done on a light table, but since I don't have one, putting my paper against the window of my studio allows me to get the same effect. I learned this nifty trick from one of my teachers at Brookside Gardens' School of Botanical Art and Illustration.

Tracing the drawing on to the paper.

When I'm doing the tracing, I don't actually tape the paper to the window. The tracing is taped to the back of the paper and I move the paper all around to get the best angle for drawing the lines. And, if you look at the watermark, my Fabriano paper here is reversed (I set up the photo for demo purposes only). In practice, I am careful about which side of the paper I'm going to paint on--the reverse side is usually a bit rougher and won't take the water and pigment as well as the surface that is intended for painting.

In the Process.

This is my painting in progress. Because I had worked out the lights and shadows in my study and have a pretty good idea of what I plan to do, I've been working on small portions of the painting at a time, while the area is still damp. Generally, one is better advised to lay washes on the painting throughout before going on to the details, but in this type of  really precise botanical painting, I am experimenting with working in tightly controlled areas. Eventually I may find one method is more useful than the other, who knows?

Snowy Day

Herb shoveling our driveway.

Measuring the accumulation.

The recent snowstorm was reason to celebrate the day staying at home. We got about 16" to17" of the powdery stuff in Front Royal. Thankfully, this week the temperatures have risen and the snow has almost all melted. Yesterday I saw a few tiny green shoots poking up where I planted the species crocus last fall. Can spring be far behind?

Blue Gentian Sketch

Blue Gentian (Gentiana scabra)

I bought a plant of Blue Gentian (Gentiana scabra) at last year's Arborfest held at the Virginia State Arboretum. It blooms in October, when few other plants are in bloom, but it was the stunning color that convinced me to splurge on it. One lady from the master gardener program there advised me to keep it in its pot rather than risk losing it by planting it in my rocky inhospitable soil.

I took her advice, and re-potted the gentian into a larger pot which I then buried to the rim by the front steps. All summer long I kept it well-watered and this fall it rewarded me with this lovely display. The photo was taken around the second week of October. Many of the flowers set seeds, and I allowed them to drop naturally to see if they will sprout next spring. I'm curious to see if the seedlings will manage to survive on their own with just a little help, or if I will have to collect new seeds this coming fall in order to propagate the plant.

It's such a beautiful flower, I'm in the process of creating a botanical painting from my photos, for this year's entry to Brookside Garden's Botanica exhibition. I need to hurry, as the deadline is coming up very soon. Here is a pencil sketch of my study of one sprig.

Gentiana scabra pencil sketch.

Orchids in the Bath

Orchids bloom around the tub.

Our bath has two windows around the tub: the large window faces west and gets direct sunlight in the afternoon, the other window faces north and provides diffuse light at day. My orchids love this moist, warm environment and bloom frequently. In fact, I've taken to rotating most of my orchids every so often into this bath to encourage blooms.

These flowering spikes started forming in the fall and right now, as you can see, there are three different varieties blooming. The most recent blossom to open is the white Phalaenopsis on the left, which has taken three years to re-bloom.

It's really neat to lie in the tub and look out the window at the snow-covered ground while being surrounded by these beauties!

Orchid Hunting in Winter

It seems odd to be out looking for orchids at this time of the year, but yesterday was a nice winter day -- sunny with no wind, temperatures in the fifties -- a perfect day to get out to pursue my botanical interests after being cooped up indoors. Herb joined me on the hike.

After my find of the Puttyroot or Adam-and-Eve orchid (Aplectrum hyemale) growing on Wildcat Mountain last spring I learned that this orchid puts out its single leaf in the fall. The leaf persists through the winter to die back in early spring. I had been wanting to see these leaves for myself, and with no underbrush to obscure them, this seemed like a great time to look for them.

We left the house around eleven thirty and started climbing up the mountain around noon. A younger family moving at a faster pace soon overtook us on the trail and we let them pass. We took the left fork at the top and proceeded toward the area where I remembered seeing the orchids. Herb was lagging behind and called out to me as we were walking by one of the old stone walls. He had spotted something he thought might be what we were looking for and sure enough, here were two orchid leaves. One had an intact dried seed pod.

I had not seen any orchids in this part of the preserve last spring, and was surprised to see just how close to the trail they grew. The leaf is very distinctive with its pleated white veins.

Aplectrum leaf 

Another few leaves cropped up a bit farther along. Apparently there are quite a few more plants of this species here than I had been able to pick out last spring. When we finally reached the spot where I had sketched before, the place was rife with them!

There was more green on the ground than I had expected to see: Christmas ferns (covered with ice in the shadier places) and a club moss called ground cedar (Lycopodium digitatum).

With our objective accomplished, we looped around the trail and back down the mountain in the warm afternoon sun. Next spring we'll look for more native orchids: Wister's coralroot and lily-leaved twayblade are known to be found here, and who knows, perhaps there could be others?

Sketching in Big Cypress

White Heron in Big Cypress, 14" x 10" watercolor.

During my recent trip to Miami, my friend Raquel and I took a jaunt to Big Cypress. We wanted to paint a bit on location, something neither of us had had much time to do recently. The swamp surrounding the Gallery at Big Cypress is such a lovely spot--the ancient cypresses shade and provide shelter for so many birds and other wildlife.

As we approached the swamp a great white heron posed at the base of one of the cypresses. He lingered long enough for us to take a few photos before flying off. We entered the gallery to check out Clyde Butcher's latest work and I couldn't resist buying a calendar and a couple of cards with his fabulous photos of ghost orchid flowers. This rare orchid has two long appendages on the lip (labellum) that resemble legs, and the frontal view makes the flower look like a whimsical little creature dancing. I hope someday I may get to see and sketch this fascinating orchid in the wild.

We took a leisurely  walk out the gallery's back door into the surrounding swamp and marveled at the cypress knees--there were several groupings that looked like sculptures. We saw this one that, to me, evoked something of Rodin's Burghers of Calais.

 After our walk we set up our gear overlooking the water and ate our lunch while contemplating what we were going to paint. I felt a bit rusty, not having done any plein air work in almost a year. I decided to include the great white heron from the morning in my sketch, but I had to do this from memory. As you can see, when comparing my sketch to the photograph below, memory makes for a poor comparison with the real thing. In fact, my whole sketch lacks the wonderful luminosity of the scene. I'll have to try this painting again, to see if I can achieve the effect from photos.

 Raquel's unfinished painting looked much better than mine--the cypress roots she chose to focus on had a similar anthropomorphic quality to the photo of the cypress knees. I can't wait to see her finished painting!

The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Elena at the Fairchild Tropical  Botanic Garden

On a recent trip to Miami to retrieve some artwork, my friend Raquel invited me to visit the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.  I had visited this gorgeous garden on a previous trip to Miami about eight years ago when artworld megastar Dale Chihuly had an exhibit there--his amazing glass pieces blended so well with the setting, they seemed to be part of the weird blossoms of the flora in the place. The garden evidently bought a few of the pieces and here is one in the tropical greenhouse.

Standing in front of a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture.

 My friend wanted me to see the new Wings of the Tropics exhibit--part of the science village program. There is an entire greenhouse dedicated to showing lovely tropical butterflies and moths flying freely. Imported from various locations around the world while in the chrysalis stage, these butterflies are released shortly after they emerge. The greenhouse is fitted with double lock doors so that the creatures cannot escape into the garden. We were told they do not have a license from the FDA to breed the butterflies, so the plants in the greenhouse are carefully chosen to supply them with nectar, but are not host plants that any caterpillars could feed on to propagate.

A moth enjoys a dessert of overripe bananas and papaya.

It was a very warm day and it was quite hot in the butterfly house, so eventually we drifted into the air-conditioned dining room for lunch. After lunch, we happened on a new museum building and found a wonderful exhibit of original botanical watercolors by artist Lee Adams.

Watercolor of palm by Lee Adams

I have been very intrigued by the discovery of this botanical artist, and the museum had little information on him other than he had been commissioned by Dr. Fairchild to do botanical illustrations of mangos in the Kampong (in Coconut Grove), Central America and later of the palms in the garden's extensive collection. Eighteen large illustrations comprised this exhibit. From the little I have been able to find, Lee Adams was from Jacksonville and died tragically in 1971 in a car accident. I am trying to find out more about him, and wonder where and how many of his other botanical works there are. If anyone reading this knows, I would be most grateful for any information.

After the museum, we wandered into the shady tropical forest, beckoned by the refreshing sound of running water through the area. We sat on a bench under an enormous tree that had dropped some very curious fruit which I picked up--we managed to photograph this specimen.

Pachira aquatica fruit

The tree itself is enormous, and it wasn't until I read the identifying tag I realized that it was the same species as my "money tree" houseplant, Pachira aquatica. What a difference! The "money tree" sold as houseplants are miniaturized like bonsai, and several plants are grown with trunks braided together to make decorative forms. The full-size tree here shows the buttress roots characteristic of many tropical trees .

Pachira aquatica tree

"Money tree" Pachira

A giant bird's nest fern perches by a shady stream in the tropical forest.

Silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa)

There is such a wealth of exotic and strange specimens in these gardens! Orchids galore, palms, screw pine (Pandanus utilis) with ripening seeds, beautiful and unusual flowering trees. I could go on for pages and pages, adding lots more photos, but I'll leave it for now. Raquel is probably is the only other person I know who could have spent the entire day there enjoying every minute as much as I!

Vanda orchids in the tropical forest