Fritillaries

Frittilaria meleagris  has to be one of my favorite flowers. They rise up from the ground in the spring looking like little snakes which, I suppose, is how they have gotten the name, Snake's head fritillary. I love their unusual checkerboard pattern. Even their bulbs are interesting. I have done drawings of both the flower and bulbs which are shown here. This spring I hope to combine flowers and bulbs into a single drawing.

I have been experimenting with different planting sites in my gardens - so much a part of the gardener's life - to find where these little beauties will thrive. After several years I think I've found they are the happiest in the herb garden outside my door where I will move most of the bulbs in the fall. A perfect setting I think as they greet me each time I go out on chilly spring mornings.

Pink Geraniums ~

I've always enjoyed this old-fashioned flower that stirs up memories from my childhood. One of my earliest memories is of my mom and grandma taking my younger brother and I to the local greenhouse. We each came home with a geranium - my brother's was red, mine was pink.

Last fall I brought several geraniums inside to overwinter in the house. It was nice to see something growing on my windowsills through the long, cold winter that we had this year. It will most likely soon be on the drawing board as a new botanical drawing. I'm in the mood for something pink!

WELCOME!

......to my new blog devoted to botanical art. In the coming weeks I will begin posting the inspiration and process behind completing some of my botanical renderings of the plants and flowers found in my garden and around my home. I also hope to include posts about other botanical artists and other things of interest in the natural world.  

                        

                Thank you for stopping by ~