Fall 2021 Art at the Mill

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), watercolor on paper, 10"h x 14" w.

 

This Fall's Art at the Mill is opening this weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing the entire show. I have five painting on display, and am hoping to sell at least one, perhaps more if I'm lucky. The waterccolor above is one of the paintings I did at the Red House Residency that will be on display at the Burwell-Morgan Mill.

 

Blandy Farm View, watercolor on paper, 9.5"h x 13.5" w.

 

The other four paintings I have in this show are botanicals, and have been featured on this blog previously, except this one above. I painted this one as a demo during one of my plein aire watercolor classes in 2019, and it turned out so nice that I decided to frame it for this show. This landscape was rather complicated, but I managed to simplify it enough to compose well, and the clarity and range of colors gives the feeling of that pleasant afternoon. It was painted in late September, right about the same time of the year as at present--one of those lovely early fall days when the weather is perfect and the sunshine delineates the shadows to highlight the forms.

I hope my readers will stop by and take in the show, which will take place for the next three weekends ending on Oct. 17. There's always something for everyone's taste at Art at the Mill. go see it!

Turning of the Season

The front yard in mid-September.

 

Despite the recent unseasonable heat, now that the days are becoming shorter, the quality of the light begins to change. In the evenings, during "the golden hour," the light becomes like liquid gold that washes over my garden, drawing me in to admire the turning of the season.

 

Hardy Begonias

 

The hardy begonias in the front garden are putting forth their blooms, while the red and white impatiens around my potted Camellia have grown out to cover the bed where the Narcissus bloomed last spring. The roses  are starting to re-bloom now that the temperatures have turned down somewhat. The dogwood's leaves are starting to turn bronze, setting off their charming red seeds.

Unlike our usual Septembers, rain has been plentiful: the month kicked off with over three inches from the remains of hurricane Ida, and several other big thunderstorms have brought a total of more then seven inches thus far. It's raining again today, so I wonder how much more we'll get.

Zinnias in the rose bed.

My zinnias are still looking good--I'm hoping they will re-seed themselves next year, but if they don't, I can always buy more. A walk around to the west side of the house reveals that my shrubs and trees are making progress, despite the damage from the seventeen-year locusts this past spring. These locusts lay their eggs in the young twigs of trees and shrubs by piercing long slits in the bark, and once weakened, the branches break off easily, setting back the growth of several years. Thank heaven they only surface once every seventeen years!

The back yard from the west.

The aisle between Herb's bed and the Little Indians.

Herb's bed is looking great with the 'Autumn Joy' Sedum flowers coloring pink, echoed by the sedums in the Little Indians bed. The feathery seed heads of the Muhly grass are just starting to emerge-- the yellow and orange Chrysanthemums add splashes of color as the Amsonia hubrichtii's feathery foliage begins to turn yellow.

 

Autumn asters (Symphyotrichum laevis) and Amsonia hubrichtii

My veggie patch

 

My veggie patch is currently producing a nice crop of wax beans. When these die back I'll plant some garlic cloves from this season's crop. As soon as the asparagus roots I ordered arrive, they'll go in where the dying flowering peas are now. The flowering peas were a disappointment--I must to face the fact that our hot and dry Virginia summers are not a suitable climate for these old-fashioned, scented climbers.

I'll be expanding the enclosure to include the asparagus. Deer generally don't eat asparagus, at least that was the case in my previous garden, but here, who knows? Better not take any chances. I love the way the wild goldenrod and woodland asters left to grow around the enclosure decorate it--they may be weeds, but much more interesting than plain grass.

 

The Badlands

The rear bed which we call "The Badlands" continues to improve despite the depredations of the deer. The Purple de Oro daylilies managed to display a few flowers despite being frequently devoured, but the Shasta daisies don't appear to have many flower buds this year--the hot and dry summer was not to their liking. I was hoping that the aromatic asters (Symphyotrichum  oblongiflolium) behind them would grow tall enough to be seen behind the Shastas, but for some inexplicable reason, this one plant stays short in this bed, whereas the one I have next to the house is at least 36-40" high with a similar spread. These will soon begin to flower along with the swamp sumflowers.

 

Black cotton (Gossypium herbaceum 'Nigrum')

I grew several black cotton plants from last year's seeds but only two of them have grown to blooming size. The deer invaded my front yard several times earlier in the summer, and ate some of these back as well as other potted plants. After moving the pots onto the deck, late in the season this one plant decided to unfurl several flowers at the same time.

 

Butterfly bush (Buddleja Lindleyana) with red-hot poker flower (Kniphofia)

Buddleja lindleyana

The new Buddleja planted last fall is growing well despite being attacked by deer--it's classified as deer resistant, but only a garlic oil clip on it kept the deer from chewing it down to stubs. It finally started to bloom in late August, and hopefully as it gets taller the deer will do less damage. The hummingbirds loved the flowers!

 

Colchicum 'Waterlily'  bud

Close-up of Colchicum bud

I was surprised to spot this lovely pink bud coming up out of the bare earth, until I remembered that I'd planted an autumn crocus, Colchicum 'Waterlily,' there. A little earlier than expected--the autumn equinox is taking place today. I hope the Colchicum will produce a few more flowers than last year, and begin to multiply.

Herb was looking out from the deck while I was out take these photos, and I couldn't resist including him in the last photo. We finally had the stairs sealed this past summer and the deck got another coat of sealant.

Herb overlooking the back yard.

Soon I'll be going into my fall planting frenzy once again. Fall is a wonderful time to plant in our area!

New Painting Explorations

Pink-striped Oakworm Moths, watercolor on paper, 11"h x 7.5"w.

 

This is the result of another of my experiments with the Stonehenge black paper. I used Daniel Smith Interference watercolors for the moths with washes of other watercolor paints over them. For the leaf, I used a layer of Titanium White watercolor paint, let it set overnight, and then applied watercolor paints on top. I really like the effect of the watercolors over the Titanium White paint, but I'm having doubts about the Interference colors--these are very hard to paint over and modify afterwards.

I also wish I'd used a slightly larger piece of paper--the composition could have used a bit more of the oak leaf form at the bottom and the right side. The next time I'll try the Titanium white under everything, paint over that, and them apply the Interference colors last. Hopefully, this will allow me to model the forms better overall. There's so many new materials that I want to try!

New Critters in My Garden

Box turtle browsing on woolly thyme.

 

Box Turtle in front yard.

Lately I've been finding new creatures in my garden. A few days ago it was a box turtle in our front yard. Herb had told me that several days before, he'd seen a box turtle in the middle of the street, just around the corner from our house, and fearing that the turtle would get run over by a car, he stopped and very carefully picked it up to move it to one side, depositing it on the lawn in front of a neighbor's house.

Now, we few days later, a box turtle shows up in our yard, right by the front walk. We'd seen another box turtle in our front yard perhaps two weeks ago, just before one of our recent evening thunderstorms. I didn't get a chance to photograph it before the turtle disappeared into the shrubbery. Could this be the same turtle? It appears to be a female, since the claws of the rear paws are very long, so we've nicknamed her Myrtle the Turtle.

 

Salvia 'Black and Blue' with pink miniature rose.

 

Yesterday we got three and a quarter inches of rain--the aftermath of hurricane Ida's passing through this part of the country. This morning I went out to look at my garden. My 'Black and Blue' Salvia is huge this year! I'm surprised that this zone 7 plant has survived two winters outdoors in our zone 6, but it seems that burying the pot in the soil and mulching heavily may be the key to keeping some of these potted plants alive through the winter.

 My plants all seemed to have benefited from the rain, the weeds especially. I was about to pull that little bit of crabgrass in the photo below when I saw something move--at first I thought it might be a small snake, we seem to have quite a few around here. Imagine my surprise when I looked closer to find one of the biggest lizards I've ever seen!

 

Skink in a flower bed.

Skink.

I've observed fence lizards since we moved to this house, but this is the first reptile of its sort I've seen here--good thing I had my phone with me to take photos! I presume the creature wandered into my garden from the woods in back, perhaps driven by the incredible rainfall, to seek higher ground or food. Looking up to see what sort of animal this was, I couldn't figure out which description best fit the one I saw, so I contacted the Virginia Herpetological Society and sent them my photos. They gave me two possibilities: it could be either a Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), or a Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps).

Herb's bed.

Seed pods of the Southern Slender Ladies' Tresses orchid.

 

 We haven't mowed the area where I'd found the Southern Slender Ladies' Tresses orchids so it's looking a bit weedy back there by Herb's bed--the Autumn Joy Sedum there is starting to show some color and soon the Muhly grass will develop its feathery pink flower heads. The orchids are almost done now, and setting seed; Herb will resume mowing next week after the orchids have had a chance to scatter their seeds--more orchids for next year!

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia syphillitica)

 

The Great Blue Lobelias are still blooming--the bees and humming birds really flock to them. The Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) I planted in the same bed didn't bloom this year, but it's still alive, so I may get some flowers next year. The ones I've seen at Blandy Farm are so lush and lovely, I'm envious. I wonder if mine will eventually spread as well as the blue ones have?

Crape myrtle 'Natchez' with zinnias.

The 'Natchez' crape myrtle didn't gain a lot of height this year, but it's blooming well. The colorful zinnias in front, which are still going strong, look great with it. I'm looking forward to the fall flowers, and all my fall planting. I wonder if we'll have a colorful fall?

Drawing the Ladies' Tresses Orchid

Southern slender ladies' tresses orchid, colored pencil drawing, 11"h x 7" w

 

After seeing a presentation by one of our very accomplished botanical artists from the Botanical Artists Society of the National Capital Region (BASNCR) group, I decided to experiment with black Stonehenge paper for drawing. I've never used a black background for any of my botanical pieces before, but I thought that it could add an element of mystery that might be appropriate to depict the tiny and intricate native orchid I found in my back yard last week. 

First I sketched the entire orchid blooming spike in pencil in my sketchbook, just for practice, I then repeated the exercise drawing on the black paper using a white color pencil. The spiraling blooms are so tiny that even with a bit of enlargement, it was rather unprepossessing.

I really wanted to be able to see the details of the tiny blossoms--even using a magnifying glass, they were nearly impossible to see! But using my phone to enlarge the blossoms and taking a photo, although the photo wasn't as sharp as I would have liked, I was able to see the basic form of the individual blossoms with the characteristic green spot on the labellum (the larger lower petal or lip). The flowers are so lovely, they really deserve the extra attention, so I decided to include a section of the enlarged flowers on the right. This made the composition a bit of a challenge, as the enlarged flowers are almost touching or "kissing" the smaller flower spike, but somehow, it works. I'll probably try this again, perhaps separating the two elements with a bit more space in between.

I want to try this again on the same black paper using pastel pencils, which may give me more brilliant whites against the background. The effect of the white pencil is interesting, but it doesn't give as brilliant a white as the pastel pencils would.  I will definitely try the same composition as a conventional watercolor with a white background, just to see how the different backgrounds affect the atmosphere of the piece.

Backyard Native Orchid Discovery

Southern slender ladies tresses orchid (Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis)

 

Yesterday I was puttering in my garden deadheading spent flowers, taking stock of the damage the deer and the seventeen-year locusts have wrought this year, when my eye was caught by a small spike of white flowers springing from the lawn behind my fenced veggie plot. I went over to take a closer look, and to my great surprise, saw the tiny flowers were arranged in a familiar spiral pattern--could it be a ladies tresses orchid? It sure looked like it!

 

Native orchid in the lawn.

I grabbed my phone to take some photos. The spike was no taller than about 8 to 10 inches, with the spirals closely wound, and no visible basal leaves. The more I looked, the more certain I became that it was indeed a native orchid, it had to be one of the ladies tressses species that blooms at this time of the year. How incredible to find one in our lawn!

 

I Emailed a photo of it to Sally, one of my botanist friends from the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS) to confirm my suspicions and see if she could help me identify the particular species. She confirmed that it was a southern lady's tresses, Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis. Apparently the southern species variety is hairless and the leaves aren't present when it blooms, whereas the northern variety of the species, Spiranthes lacera var. lacera, is hairy and the leaves are present at blooming time. The green spot on the labellum is another clue to the southern variety.

Since this is the first time I've seen the orchid in my lawn, I wondered how it could have sprouted there. This native orchid is common in disturbed areas in my region (including lawns), and it's possible that it has been growing there for some time, but was mowed in other years, and so I never noticed it, or it could be the orchid's first year producing bloom. Who knows? We'll have to make sure it doesn't get mowed, so that perhaps it can set seed and begin to multiply. How lovely it would be to have a colony of these delicate native orchids in my yard!

August Monsoon

Back yard during a thunderstorm.

 

After the prolonged drought of the past few months, August seems to be turning the tide with three powerful thunderstorms within one week, each dropping over an inch of rain. It's almost like the summer monsoons in the Southwest at this time of the year. Out there, the heat builds up during the day to give rise to huge thunderheads that drop incredible amounts of rain on the parched land.

The winds were so strong at the height of one of these storms, that our new cast aluminum bench (a corner of which shows on the lower right hand corner) got blown clear across from one side the deck to the other! The bench was originally by the railing all the way over to the left. Many of my houseplants summering on the deck were thrown off my new plant stands, some were even knocked clean out of their pots! Fortunately, the damage isn't permanent, they'll recover in a day or two.

 

Salvia 'Black and Blue'

Everything in my garden was looking pretty sad before the rains, but now everything is starting to revive. The Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' just started to bloom. My Australian red lime has set some fruit, two nice-sized ones from the past winter and a few more this summer; I presume a change in color will indicate when the limes are ready to be harvested.

Australian red lime.

The deer decimated so many plants that I don't have much in the way of seasonal flowers such as the usual black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia)--this year's display is quite poor compared to last year's. 

 

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm')

Impatiens in the front bed.

I planted these red and white Impatiens in the front bed after the Narcissus leaves began to dry and wither, but either deer or rabbits ate the Impatiens, so there 's not as much coverage as I'd hoped for. With the recent rains, these may yet grow fuller before the end of the season.

Herb's bed and the Little Indians

 

Every year I strip the early buds from the Chrysanthemums, but they still end up blooming much too early. This year I didn't touch the buds at all, and as you can see, the mums, the yellow ones in particular, are starting to bloom right now. The zinnias are still going strong too--I'll definitely be planting more next year, now that I know deer won't bother them.

 

'Benary's Giant' zinnias.

Great blue Lobelias (Lobelia syphillitica)

 My great blue Lobelias have started to put on their annual show--this location seems to be to their liking and they multiply more each year. The 'Pink Posie' Pentstemons under the 'Amber Ghost' Japanese maple are also blooming well this year. The Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue,' on the other hand, seem to have suffered greatly from the drought, and don't have many flowers, at least thus far.

 

'Pink Posie' Pentstemons.

Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' in bed behind 'Pink Posie" Pentstemons.

 

I can only hope that the rains will continue and the fall blooming season won't be as disappointing as the summer has been.

The Cowpasture River

The Cowpasture River, watercolor, 10"h x 14"w.

 

During my artist residency at the Red House, I really wanted to take a dip in the Cowpasture River, a beautiful stretch of this river flows through Amanda's farm. The Cowpasture is one of Virginia's cleanest rivers, and one of the sources of the much larger James River that flows through Richmond and so much of our state's history.

I explored many other places in the area before finally getting around to painting the Cowpasture River. The Sunday before a tremendous thunderstorm struck. I later heard that the rain fell at a rate of two inches an hour! The river rose so high that three of Amanda's beach chairs were swept downstream, never to be found again! 

The following Sunday afternoon, with more normal water levels, I felt it was safe to explore the river. The water was a bit colder than I had expected, so I settled for just wading rather than full immersion, and then started my painting. 

 

The Cowpasture River.

The afternoon was very warm, and soon the shade moved so that I was in the full sun, trying to shade the painting with my body. Somehow, the paper in my sketchbook (it was the last blank sheet) didn't seem to be working as usual--my washes were covered with specks all over, and the paper wasn't absorbing the water normally. Could it be that tree sap or debris on the surface was making the paper act differently? I couldn't explain it, but I was having the hardest time trying to get the paint to cover the paper.

I was about to give up and call it a day, when it occurred to me, why not lay down the darkest wash I could over the trees and shadows, and then go back in to lift out the lighter branches? This change of approach really helped, although the near foliage became a bit more blueish-green than I had intended. There was nothing to do but go with it, and echo the same shades for the shadows on the water. The result is a painting with lots of mood and mystery, which I really like.

Painting on Amanda's little beach.

Amanda loved the painting too, so I've agreed to give it to her. A few days later, I painted another one for myself. This one is in a new sketchbook, which has a different brand of paper. It handles differently from the paper in my old sketchbook.

The Cowpasture River II, watercolor, 14" x 10"

This second painting has a very different mood--sunny and bright, more open. The clump of trees overhanging the water isn't as dominant, and doesn't influence the mood as much as in the first painting. Amanda came by and took this photo of me as I was finishing the painting.

The Cowpasture River is such a lovely place! I hope to visit it again soon.