The Trillum Trail 2013

The Trillium Trail casts a special magic during spring. I was afraid to miss the annual miracle this year--too ironic to contemplate now that we live about 15 miles away rather than nearly a hundred. So, this week on a beautiful evening after work, I dragged Herb out to visit it.

We got there around six-thirty as the sun's rays were slanting low over the ridge. The one person at the site was just leaving. The Trilliums were at their peak as you can see, but at that time of the evening the gnats and insects were starting to become annoying. I looked for the Yellow Lady Slipper orchids and found only two blossoms at the usual place (there usually are more than three plants there). A lot of trees had come down on that side of the trail, so perhaps some of the other plants at this stand had been buried by the timber.

Still, there should have been a lot more plants further down the hill--I remember years when there were Lady Slippers all over the trail. I went off trail to look around and found one only more bloom. Then I saw that there were a few more orchid plants near-by: one of the other plants was in bud, but it hadn't opened yet. Perhaps it was a bit early for the Yellow Ladyslippers, and they are easy to miss among the undergrowth when not in bloom.

Yellow Lady Slipper with Trilliums and Star Chickweed

It was the same story with the Showy Orchis--I couldn't find any tiny plants, much less blossoms in the part of the Appalachian trail where I've seen so many of them over the years. I'll have to come back in another week or two to check. With the unusually cool spring this year, it's quite possible the orchids are late.

There was the usual range of lovely wildflowers found at this time of the year: several varieties of violets in yellow and blue, including halberd-leaved violets, star chickweed, wild geraniums, wood anemones, Early Meadow Rue and both Solomon's Seal and False Solomon's Seal not yet in bloom. Oddly, there was no Squaw Root--so plentiful in other years--to be seen, perhaps because it's been rather dry? I found a tiny plant new to me--only about 3 inches tall, with white flowers, which I have yet to identify. If any readers know what this plant is please let me know.

Poor Herb was having a hard time with the gnats, and trying to fend them off like this:

Birdsong resounded over the hillside on this golden spring evening. I recognized the crystalline music of the rose-breasted grosbeaks, and had hoped to spot some of the birds, but didn't see any. I managed to see a few small warblers, blue-gray above with yellow at the throat, perhaps a bit of rust--they might have been yellow-throated warblers or northern parula warblers--hard to tell in the fading light.

Orchids and Artichokes

Odontoglossum orchid, colored pencil drawing, 17" x 14."

Here's my most recent botanical piece, a colored pencil drawing of my second mystery orchid, which I believe may be an Odontoglossum species or hybrid. The orchid blossoms opened in the middle of March and I documented them here in this posting. The blossoms were starting to fade just as I completed my drawing about a week ago, the last week of April. As the tepals gradually become thinner and more papery with age, the flowers turn dark and eventually fall off.

Artichoke and asparagus, colored pencil drawing, 17" x 14."

Above is a view of the artichoke and asparagus colored pencil drawing done in class--my scanner is too small to do the full page of my sketchbook, so this is a photo showing my test marks for the colors in the upper left hand corner.

Dendrobium bud.

The Dendrobium orchid I bought last fall and painted for my class project has put out a new flowering spike. I wish it had done so a few months earlier as I was struggling to finish the watercolor painting, but considering the plant appeared to be dying, I'm happy to see the resurgence. The orchid has a new growing stem as well as the flower spike. Above is a photo of the buds developing their characteristic spur.

Spring Arrives

A rainbow after the rain.

I've been neglecting my blogging for the past few weeks in favor of working on my garden. Spring has finally arrived in Front Royal, bringing its usual cycle of beauty. The cherry tree in front is blooming and last fall's back-breaking labor is showing nice results with white narcissus and pansies among the sedum ground cover. The three small Korean boxwoods by the porch are putting our new growth after a dose of good garden soil worked in last fall.

The improvements on the evergreens by the porch encouraged me to try a similar treatment on the stunted barberry bushes along the west side of the house and the puny row of arbor vitae in back. I spent a couple of weekend afternoons digging two holes at the base of each plant, removing many large rocks and filling the holes with good potting soil, then mulching the beds. My back gave out before getting to the last three arborvitae--they'll have to wait a bit longer for their treatment.

In the meantime, the Japanese Full Moon maple, the climbing rose and the clematis I had ordered on-line arrived and needed to be planted. I started to strip the skimpy turf at the side of the porch for the rose and clematis, and soon realized the soil there was much too rocky for these plants--I'll have to re-think the location, or create a raised bed there. I have my heart set on training an old fashioned ever-blooming rose, 'New Dawn,' to twine around the posts on the porch so the wonderful scent can greet visitors.

Full Moon Japanese maple unfurls its leaves.

Herb helped me dig the proverbial $20 hole (more like $100 in today's inflated currency) for the full moon maple and we got it into the ground just before the spring rain. As the rain retreated a lovely rainbow appeared.

On another beautiful evening I began to tackle the brambles and weeds invading the strip of back yard that starts to slope down to the ravine. I want to eventually plant some small redbud trees and other flowering bushes there as a transition to the backdrop of tall trees growing in the ravine. Imagine my surprise and delight to find some tiny violets blooming in this inhospitable rocky soil! They appear to be a native variety, not the common European weed-type, so I'll leave them there in hopes they spread over this shady corner.

Wild violets

Drawing with Color Pencils

Pear and Orange, Prismacolor pencils on mat board, 10" x 9."

I really enjoyed the recent Colored Pencil class at Brookside Gardens. Colored pencils were my favorite medium for drawing as a child. My sisters and I had amassed a huge collection of Prismacolor pencils which we would expand during our shopping expeditions to downtown Havana with my mother and aunts. Each of us was allowed to select one pencil for purchase as a reward for good behavior. At the rate of four pencils every other week or so, our collection grew over the years until we had the equivalent of an expensive 120 or 150-color set (of course, favorite colors also had to be replaced often).

I've tried many other mediums since then: watercolor, acrylics, oils, pastels, you name it. To me, colored pencils are still the most portable, easy to use, and versatile. No mess either--nothing to clean up other than pencil shavings and keeping your paper smudge-free. My love affair with them has been re-kindled by this class.

Artichoke with asparagus spear, Prismacolor pencil study, 17" x 11."

There is such an amazing variety of effects you can get with colored pencils, blending and overlaying of colors, along with varying pressure and linework. Prismacolor pencils have a wax base, and the one thing to watch for is that excessive application can cause the wax to rise to the surface over time creating a "wax bloom" that obscures the artwork.

In these botanical illustration classes I have been exposed to another type of colored pencils: Faber Castell's Polychromos pencils, which are oil-based. These are well-suited for shading and adding detail such as veins under watercolor washes. The range of colors is lovely too--I just invested in a 60-color set so I can experiment more with them. I wonder what else can be done with these as a stand-alone medium? Stay tuned.

The Mystery Orchid Blooms

The most recent of my orchids to put out a flowering spike, which I'd been referring to as the "mystery orchid," finally opened! It has very curious flowers, the sepals and laterals petals are a greenish yellow speckled with red-purplish brown spots. The labellum is creamy white, also speckled, sporting the classic mimic bee to attract pollinators.

I wonder what its parentage could be? Odontoglossum seems the most likely, at least from the flower's shape and markings, although it could be a hybrid with perhaps Oncidium. Whatever the hybrid or species may be, I am having a good time sketching it with an eye to doing a finished work later on.

Diane Tesler Workshop

Diane corrects proportions on a student's painting.

Recently I had the privilege of spending a long weekend focused on art. On Saturday I had signed up for Brookside Gardens' colored pencil class. Much as I would have liked to, I was not able to be at Diane Tesler's workshop at VECCA on the first day. I joined the group for the other two days and had an epiphany.

Over the years, other artists have recommended Diane Tesler as a truly accomplished artist and teacher, but I had not had the opportunity to take one of her workshops before. She still teaches classes at the Art League School at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, though she now lives full-time in Kewanna, Indiana. This weekend was my first chance to work with her, and so conveniently close to my new home.

Diane and students at 7 East Gallery VECCA space.

This workshop has been held for the past 27 years in various locations around Woodstock, VA; some of the students have attended regularly since then. VECCA's 7 East Gallery space has been used for the past 8 years or so. There were 14 of us participating, working mostly in oils, but also in pastel, and space in the gallery was tight; two back rooms absorbed the overflow.

Betty Weathers concentrating on her painting.

Elaine Boomer with her lovely still life.

Diane travels with wonderful props she has collected over the years. She comes in the day before to set up the still lives that the students will work from and the set-ups all seem to evoke something beyond mere objects piled up together... all of her assemblages seem to imply a story, a mood, or theme. Some students prefer to bring in photos of what they want to work on; the workshop format allows for a loose structure.

Donna Patton working on her wine festival still life.

Jane McElvany's fabulous crab feast

 By the time I joined the group on Sunday morning, most of the others were far along on their paintings, and I could see from their work that they were all experienced, talented artists. Some of the still life set-ups were quite elaborate and would take a lot of work to finish. Some artists were already working on a second painting of the several canvases they had brought.

There was only one set-up that had had no takers--a pair of old, weather-beaten work boots on a paint-stained cardboard backdrop sitting in a corner of the last room. Not a very appealing subject, but this was the only one available for me to paint. There was nothing to do but embrace the challenge and try to have fun with it, to love the subject as a mother loves her ugly child.

I was going to sketch directly on my small canvas panel, but Diane instructed me to sketch it on paper first, and, of course, she was right--this saves a lot of wasted effort. I borrowed some sketch paper from another artist, and saw right away that my panel was too small for what I had drawn. But I hadn't brought anything else larger, so I was stuck with either having to drive home to bring another panel, or trying to find a place nearby where I could buy a larger canvas (good luck with that on a Sunday morning!). Providentially, another artist, Betty, offered me one of the extra canvases she had brought along--she had one that was just the right size--but it was toned with a deep brick-red gesso! (I prefer neutral toning like cool or warm gray, Burnt Sienna at most). We negotiated a price.

Putting the first strokes on that dark red background was intimidating. What was there to be afraid of? Nobody here was going to beat me or laugh at me if my painting didn't happen to turn out well. As the day wore on, the bright sun coming through the window behind my canvas didn't exactly help, but I slogged on, enjoying the conversations of my fellow artists.

Diane made her rounds, offering helpful suggestions and comments to each student, sitting down at an easel here and there to demonstrate, or make a correction if the student asked. After lunch break, she asked us to bring our paintings over to the main room for a critique.

Suzanne Arthur 's ironing board painting

The crits were thoughtful as well as constructive--Diane found something noteworthy in each piece and commented on aspects of mood and feeling that would enhance each painting, pointing out problems with composition, or areas that could be confusing or mislead the eye. Every student took away something of value, not just about their own painting, but in viewing the others' work we were training our eyes to see what worked and what didn't, and apply those lessons to our own work as well.

Lewis Anderson's pastel of peppers with pot & vase.

Workshop organizer Barbara Randel had made reservations for dinner for our group at Sal's Italian Bistro in nearby Edinburg on the weekend's two evenings--an opportunity to get to know each other better. Dinner at Sal's on Sunday evening was great fun--we had the place pretty much to ourselves (I can't speak about Saturday night) and that was a good thing--I was afraid we'd drive our waitress nuts, but she took it in stride.

I'd arranged for a day off on Monday so I could continue painting the next day. Monday was cloudy and the lack of direct sun worked for me. On the second day I managed to see more and get down the details of the shapes better.  The longer I looked at those boots, the more Attitude they seemed to have. Something about the way the empty boots stood there suggested the classic contraposto stance, as if the wearer had stood in such a pose habitually for so long, that the boots had frozen in that stance. Now that I could see the attitude, the painting became much more fun. Or was it that had begun to identify and project my own personality into the boots? Whatever it was, I felt myself becoming emboldened by this realization, and confident enough to add bits of cadmium red light straight from the tube into the reflected lights, and leave a few areas of the dark red background showing through in places. Diane reminded me to put in the shadows of the shoelaces for a final touch.

The result is so striking, all I can say is I've never done a painting like this before--I'm really pleased with it. I would never have thought of this on my own. Thank you, Diane, for being such an inspiration! I am really looking forward to the next workshop in the fall.

The Painter's Boots, 20" x 16" oil.

Winter Blooms and Sketches

Winter blooms.

Miltassia hybrid "Scent of a Woman."

My orchids really seem to like our new master bath--they have been putting on a wonderful display this winter. Above is a photo of one of the plant boxes surrounding the bathtub, and below a detail of the current blossoms--a pink Miltassia hybrid named "Scent of a Woman." I bought this orchid at a clearance sale for $5--the plant looked as if it might not make it, but I decided to take a chance on it anyway. A little TLC and not only did it bounce back, it has blossomed faithfully every winter since I bought it. This flowering spike is the largest it has produced to date, with more than 22 individual flowers.

Graphite sketch of Brassidia hybrid orchid.

The sketch above is of one of my "mystery orchids" bought at a roadside stand in Florida three years ago. This is the one that blossomed on Christmas Eve (recorded in photos that were posted here in December) that I believe may be a Brassidia hybrid (a three-way hybrid of Brassia, Miltonia and Oncidium). I plan to turn this sketch into a watercolor illustration later on. 

Below is another quick sketch done last night. My camera is currently undergoing repairs, so I need to sketch this orchid to record the development of its large and fascinating flower spike. What will the flowers turn out to be like and what colors? From the structure of the emerging buds--very similar to the Miltassia--I'm guessing it may be another Oncidium-Miltonia hybrid, but who knows? This is part of the fun.

Mystery orchid #2

Painting Practice and 7 East Gallery Reception

Dendrobium Orchid practice painting

Yesterday in class we continued to work on various watercolor techniques we can apply to our paintings. One interesting one I tried out here was to use colored pencil to shade the veins in on the petals and sepals and include a subtle touch of yellow-green at the tips of the sepals. This is done before the watercolor wash is applied and allows one to add detail that would be difficult to put in with a brush. I still have a ways to go rendering the flower color accurately, and will practice more before starting on the final painting next week.

Catching up with my other art activities, last Sunday was the opening reception at for my featured artist show "Life Impressions" at 7 East Gallery in Woodstock, VA. Snow flurries had been forecast for the morning, and sure enough, dry flakes were blowing about when I got up. Checking the weather report on-line, there was no accumulation expected and the snow was supposed to clear by afternoon, so I went ahead with my preparations for the refreshments. I was bringing two more paintings to add to the show; at the gallery's request we would display those on easels set about the floor.

Herb and I headed out a little past noon to be there at one o'clock to set things up, driving through more thick flurries, but these stopped before we reached the town of Woodstock and the sun actually came out. I had a lovely table set up but only a few artist members of the gallery came, and our son David and his girlfriend. My public may have been small compared to other shows, but as Spencer Tracy would have said in character, "what there was, was cherce".

Me in front of 7 East Gallery (photo by David)

Inside the gallery (photo by Herb)

Featured Artist at 7 East Gallery

After the Blizzard, oils on panel, 11" x 14."

Next week my art will be having its first exposure in the Shenandoah Valley at VECCA's (Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts) 7 East Gallery , 123 S. Main Street in Woodstock, VA. I'm honored to be the Featured Artist for the month of February.  And that is a nice way to celebrate the beginning of this blog's fifth year.

I thought this painting of the winter of 2010 blizzard would be appropriate for the invitation. We've been extraordinarily lucky these last couple of winters have not been severe. This winter has been quite civilized so far... cold enough to let us know it's here, a few inches of snow now and then, but nothing epic like the winter of 2010 with its record-setting back-to-back blizzards. How we'll fare during the rest of the winter in the Year of the Snake remains to be seen.

If you get a chance, please join us for some refreshments at the opening reception next Sunday, Feb. 3 from 2-4 PM at 7 East Gallery in Woodstock, VA--"the other Woodstock," the townspeople like to say.

Winter Break

 

Herb looks over the Shenandoah Valley

Last Sunday was a rare, near-record warm winter day--almost 70 degrees! Such weather was too good to waste, so Herb and I drove up to Skyline Drive for the afternoon. We parked at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center lot (the visitor center was closed) and took the Fox Hollow Trail down a hill on the east side of the mountain. At the lower part of the trail there is an old cemetery and several large rock piles that must have been part of an old homestead before this became a national park. There were only two gravestones, and it was not until we saw the names on the them that we realized that the trail had been named after the Fox family's homestead, not the animal which we see infrequently around here and our hunt country residents love to chase.

It was so warm we shed our coats and wool scarves on the trek back up the hill. There was not much in the way of wildlife to observe--a family we passed told us they'd seen some woodpeckers up the hill, but by the time we got back up they were gone. I spotted some feathers and remains of a small woodpecker on the ground--a hawk must have made a meal of one of the birds a few days before, as the feathers on the muddy ground were matted.

Low clouds washed like an ocean around the mountain tops to the east when we started our hike but by the time we returned the skies were starting to clear. We decided to drive on a bit farther and stop at a few of the overlooks nearby to prolong the outing.

It was great fun to survey our new home here in the Shenandoah Valley from above. We lingered at Signal Knob Overlook watching the play of light and shadow across the landscape as the clouds opened up here and there. The sun lit parts of the valley casting the hills in sharp relief while other parts remained in shadow; a glider soared silently near Signal Knob. I wished I'd had my kit and the time to paint this drama, but the light changed so quickly, that would have been impossible anyway. It was enough for now to be able to enjoy and photograph it, perhaps for later use.

A Christmas Orchid

Brassidium, Miltassia or Miltonidia?

One of the mystery orchids I bought at a roadside stand in Florida a couple of years ago put out another flowering shoot recently--in fact, four of my orchids have developed flowering stems this fall. One orchid actually has two flowering stems! They really seem to like the environment in our new house, perhaps because it's a bit chilly at night. That 10-degree difference between day and night-time temperatures seems to play an important part in coaxing orchids to bloom.

The first bud on this plant began to open on Christmas Eve, the second a few days later, and it looks like the third one will open in another day or two.

I've tried to identify the genus-- it's likely a hybrid of two or perhaps three different genera, but which ones? The shape of the flower appears to indicate perhaps one parent is Brassia, the spider orchid, because of the longish tepals. The bi-color hues and ornate labellum are similar to some of the Brassidiums (Brassia and Oncidium hybrids) I've seen on-line. But there are also hybrids of the Miltonia genus known as Miltassia or "Mtssa." Another of my orchids (greenhouse-bought) is labeled as "Mtdm" short of Miltonidium, presumably a hybrid of Miltonia and Oncidium.  Not being a botanist, I'll probably never be able to determine for sure, but it's fascinating to try to guess. I can't wait to see what the other mystery orchid will look like when it blooms.

Close-up of flower.

The Magic of Twinkling Lights

Driving to Front Royal in the evenings at this time of the year when the sun is setting and dusk sets in before one is halfway home, it's wonderful to see the Christmas lights and decorations spring up along the way. It never ceases to amaze me how a few strings of colored lights and decorations can transform the humblest bungalow or ramshackle old farmhouse into a shining wonderland...

This part of Virginia's countryside seems to make a tradition of lighting the seasonal gloom with a particular charm. The town of Middleburg with its store fronts all lit up becomes a story-book village during the Christmas season, and some of the old houses in Upperville look just like gingerbread cottages.

You can imagine my delight as I was driving over a hill on the other side of Upperville to come upon the sight pictured above: a house and pond with a small island outlined in lights. At first I thought it might be a creche on the island (that would have been gutsy), but upon closer inspection, like most decorations today, it's purely secular--a Santa, a sled and some reindeer. The ambiguity of the scene is still very evocative.

A few evenings ago I stopped to take this photo and found a plaque at the gate of the estate--Mulwyck it said. Over the summer and fall I've observed the little island furnished with Adirondack chairs, and now this lavish display! I wonder how the owner reaches the island--does he have a canoe or pontoon boat at the back? In any case, this one wins my best of the season award for the year.

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 We too have done our best this year to decorate the new house enough to match our neighbors' splendor. It's almost a necessity when you live where there are no streetlights. Merry Christmas, y'all!

Our house.

More Ladyslippers

Yellow Ladyslipper, watercolor 22" x 13"

This is the second version of my piece for the Botanical Intensive class I missed last spring that I needed to get credit for. It's good practice for me to do this now to better develop the final painting I intend to submit for the BAEE project (Botanical Artists for Education and the Environment) next year.

This orchid is really challenging to depict, and such a complicated subject I probably shouldn't have chosen it for my project but it's so beautiful and fascinating, I can't resist. There are many faults in it, which I'm working to correct, to clear up confusing visual information. Below is the first version I did, which was with the wrong palette. The difference between the two palettes is subtle, but the colors in the earlier version look rather Disneyish in comparison with the more natural colors of the other.

The Virginia State Arboretum

The Blandy Farm in November, oils on panel, 9" x 12."

Yesterday afternoon I finally got out to paint in oils, something I haven't had a chance to do since last spring. I drove out to the Virginia State Arboretum, part of the Blandy Experimental Farm, which I pass every morning and evening on my way to work. The Blandy Farm is a 700-acre facility deeded to the University of Virginia by Mr. Graham Blandy, a wealthy New Yorker.

The Arboretum is a lovely place with many wonderful huge specimens of native and exotic conifers, boxwoods and other unusual plants. The previous weekend I'd taken Herb there to show him the place and we walked around to explore the various gardens and plantings.

It was difficult to choose a view--I wanted to show the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background, but didn't have much time to look around so I chose this view from the main house looking through some dramatic evergreens down to the fields. Though most of the foliage is now gone, the grasses on rolling hills showed some lovely colors in the afternoon sun, with the lengthening shadows for interest.

My skills have become rather rusty during these months of moving, and I'm afraid I didn't do justice to the landscape or the afternoon light. It didn't help to have a large group of very loud teenagers (college students I presume) who were having some sort of program nearby, and were making so much noise as to make it impossible to concentrate or enjoy the place (were we ever this loud at that age or have young people become ruder?).

My painting turned out rather ordinary, yet it felt so good to be out painting again! As the shadows lengthened it became chillier, and my hands were starting to get numb; it seemed like a good time to stop as the light was fading. I hope to do better on my next session as I get back into practice.

Refining Graphite Studies

Dendrobium light & shade study

In our Drawing 309 class we have been working on refining our graphite techniques: using the botanical piece we did in our previous class we are now developing a finished piece in graphite. The process involves using tracing paper overlays in layers to develop first, a light and shade study (above). The second layer is a value study superimposed on the light and shade (below). A third layer, which I am just starting, will deal with details of the flowers.

Dendrobium, value study superimposed over light and shade

In addition to the main project, we did a couple of other exercises: a sketch of some button mushrooms, and shading a bunch of grapes to clarify what is in front and what is in back. It's interesting to apply the same principles of articulating different planes that I've used in landscape painting to a drawing where the focus is so much smaller, and the planes may be only a few inches in distance, rather than miles. The same principles apply to both.

Calm During the Storm

The Trees Before the Storm, pastel, 9" x 12."

I took some photos of my new back yard Saturday before last--there is a hollow back there where the ground drops off steeply and a rivulet of runoff has allowed this copse of tall oaks and other trees to grow lush. The trees were at the peak of their color in the early morning sun.

This past Monday morning my boss sent the word out--we should all leave at noon to get home safely before Hurricane Sandy hit our area, expected to be around 8 PM that night. As I was driving west on Route 50 the rains were coming down steadily and the gusts of wind getting stronger. I prayed that no trees or big branches would fall as I was passing underneath--there are so many old  and fragile trees along the way--or that flooding would not have closed down some of the low-lying bridges.

Oddly, it was raining less when I got to Front Royal; I guess being farther away from the coast lessened somewhat the effects of the storm. But as the afternoon progressed, the skies darkened and the wind began to howl. I knew by morning there would be few leaves left on the trees, so I was glad I'd had  chance to photograph the lovely color while it lasted.

What better way to spend a stormy evening than in the studio? My new studio has a big window overlooking the back yard. It was too dark to see much out there as I worked from my photos, snug and warm while the wind howled. It seemed wondrous to find myself in this new safe harbor after the upheaval of moving this past summer. After I had most of my painting done I went downstairs and Herb lit the gas fireplace for that extra cozy feeling.

In the morning I went in to look at my little painting and saw out the window (no surprise!) that the leaves were down and one can now see the outbuildings of the farm on the other side of the steep ravine. My newly-planted trees all came through the storm just fine, and the saffron is starting to sprout.

Herb carved our traditional jack o' lantern to display for Halloween, but disappointingly, not a single trick-or-treater came to our door. There are only a few children in our new neighborhood, so I suppose it's not done around here.

A Rose for My Garden

Just-planted red 'Double Knockout' rose

I still miss my old garden in Columbia with its mature trees, the huge blue hydrangeas at the base of the deck, and the topiary evergreens in front...but if there is one plant I miss the most, it's the red 'Knockout' rose my sister gave me a few years ago. The plant had reached optimum proportions and was covered with lovely blossoms all season long. At the height of bloom one or two sprigs could fill a vase. Herb and I really enjoyed having a fresh rose to display in a bud vase for half of the year, so I just had to have a rose for my new garden.

We stopped by Springtime Garden Center yesterday after our regular stop at the farmer's market and I bought my rose, a red 'Double Knockout'. A thunderstorm had been predicted for the afternoon, but the dark clouds raced overhead, and it turned out to be a beautiful fall afternoon, breezy yet warm--perfect for gardening.

It took about two hours of backbreaking labor with the pick to prepare the soil--I dug up two bucket-fulls of rocks, some so large they could have been used for stacked fencing. I mixed in commercial topsoil with the clayey dirt and bits of old mulch until I finally had that proverbial $20 hole for my $5 plant. It felt so good to finally get the rose into the ground!

All this back-breaking work will hopefully pay off next spring and for years to come--I've been neglecting my artwork in favor of gardening this fall. My mother was a true artist when it came to gardening--her garden was such a lovely piece of work, with bold and unexpected combinations of colors and foliage, a real "garden for all seasons." I'm finding that plants are a much harder medium to work in than any paint I've ever tried.

Birthday Roamings

Yellow Ladyslipper seed pod

Yesterday was my birthday--one of those significant numbers--and after picking up veggies, eggs and other staples at our farmer's market and doing some chores, I decided to treat myself to an afternoon of leisure. I found our local library, got myself a card and checked out the two items allowed first-time users.

After lunch I loaded my paint kit and headed out to tackle the view from a local vineyard up on Freezeland Road. Before doing that, since it was so close, I wanted to check on the Yellow Ladyslipper orchids and see if any seed pods had formed, so I took a short walk on the Trillium Trail at Thompson Wildlife.

I was rewarded with one find--a healthy, plump pod--at one of the well-established stands. I also managed to locate the specific clump I had drawn and photographed last spring, but alas, this one had been growing right by the side of the fire road, and some kind volunteer had mowed the track since I'd been there during summer. The poor orchid had been decapitated-- if one of the flowers had set a seed pod, it was gone now!

This has given me the idea of trying to map out as many of the orchid stands next spring to try to record the Yellow Ladyslipper orchid population to see how they migrate and spread through this site. This may all become part of my Certificate Project for the Botanical Illustration Certificate.

My walk took a bit longer than anticipated, and by the time I arrived at the vineyard, it was around five o'clock--a perfect time for the Golden Hour . I went inside to ask the owner permission to paint, and was informed that it was fine but they closed at six sharp; they wanted everyone out so they could shut their gate. That gave me less than an hour to set up and paint--an impossible proposition--there was no point in even taking my kit out; I would have to come earlier the next time. I took some photos of the views and left.

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The early sunlight was sparkling on the dew in my new garden this morning so I slipped out front (in pajamas!) to take this photo showing the new dogwood tree we added, and some colorful mums. We still need to replace patches of the red mulch with more suitable brown and add a few more accent plants, but gradually, my new garden is starting to take shape.