Wednesday, July 22, 2009

In Bloom-Lavender

Whenever a plant is in bloom it seems to be everywhere I look. This week lavender is enjoying its moment in the sun, fragrant and abuzz with bees. I usually prefer plants pre and post bloom but sometimes it's just good to draw a flower.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Field

A place I return to again and again. Always wonderful.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Moss Street Market

Every Saturday morning I visit a neighbourhood market and choose a subject for a drawing or painting. This week the onions looked particularly lovely... I thought this one looked stately, no common onion.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Postcards from the garden...Silybum

I am beginning a new series for the summer...Postcards- from the garden, from the field, from my travels, from whatever interests me. The first postcard is one of my favourite plants, Silybum marianum, also known as milk thistle. You have to love a plant called silybum just for its name, but I love the look of it too. It is grown as an herbal remedy for diseases of the liver and gallbladder in Europe although considered an invasive weed in North America and Australia. I have seen it grown as an effective and beautiful natural barrier to protect crops from foraging wildlife. I grow it in a large pot in my garden, the seeds smuggled through the border at great risk.