Now that I've gotten a little better handle on gardening (or at least not killing my plants), I find myself doing "plant checks" throughout the day. I check first to see what's been munched on by the gophers, squirrels, bunnies, hornworms, or whatever else helps itself to my plants. I also check to see what needs to be deadheaded, what's sprouted, and what needs water. Sometimes I just like to pull up a gardening mat to sit on and observe the plants. This is especially fun when new things are sprouting-- if we're not in the middle of a heatwave or a cold snap (rare here in Fallbrook), I usually have new seeds going somewhere.
This morning was wet and foggy, so I also got to go out early and look for unique spiderwebs. I haven't tried painting one yet, but having grown up a fan of
Charlotte's Web, I take pictures of the more intricate ones. The kids and I also do a "wellness check" on our current crop of entertaining bugs and reptiles, which include a couple of large lizards, a newly-hatched grasshopper, and a fierce little praying mantis patrolling a fruit tree I have yet to plant.
Of course, I also take pictures of flowers to paint. Yesterday I spotted a bright blue-purple flower in the midst of all the yellow flowers currently in bloom, and looked closer to see that it was love-in-a-mist. I thought they were gone for the summer, so I was delighted to see it and decided I would make a little painting of it (above).
In addition to the plant checks, I also check the bird feeders-- which usually get raided by a family of squirrels by late-morning. We had orioles nesting in our palm tree when summer began, so I got a few pictures of them to paint as well.
I don't let it grow anymore, but for many years we had wild cucumber that would take over one of our big oak trees, which led to this painting:
I've always enjoyed painting flowers, but have only grown my own flowers for the last few years or so. Before that, I often took pictures of flowers in the gardens of family and friends, at local theme parks and zoos, and even at medical centers while waiting for appointments. I still find myself taking pictures at these places when I see unique arrangements of plants and flowers. I especially can't resist plants in water!
How does nature inspire you to create? Do you find inspiration in the garden?
I'll be teaching a class on water-brushed pastels at
Fallbrook Library this week (registration is required). One subject we definitely won't be painting this time:
squirrels!
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