Blog

A French Garden, oil on canvas. Details here.

I started my first garden in a patch of dirt behind a shared rental house in Jamacia Plain, Massachusetts while a law student. There were cinder blocks and old bottles to clear, and I worked to the rumble of the overhead subway (the "orange line") and songs by Fleetwood Mac coming from the neighbor’s porch. It was a humble garden, but I was hooked.

This was the same year I bought myself a small watercolor set to record my first trip to Maine. Since then I’ve been painting outdoors and planting gardens each place I’ve lived (seven gardens so far).

My growth as a gardener has paralleled my growth as an artist. Both involve learning from others and from experience, trial and error, successes and failures. Today I'll tell you about some of the gardens that have influenced my own gardening practices.

Nearby Gardens

I have visited many gardens over the years, often with my sketchbook in hand to capture ideas.

Swiss chard used as decoration at the Cornell Plantations, Ithaca NY. Watercolor & colored pencil, from the sketchbook.

Color is usually what attracts me to a painting subject. Note the crimson colors in these branches:

Blueberry bushes in early spring, watercolor & ink, from the sketchbook.

In the past I've visited historic gardens such as the Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, Williamsburg, VA, and Monticello. I brought home many skills I continue to use every year such as seed saving, constructing bean teepees, and planting Brandywine tomatoes.

Bean teepees in my backyard garden

Trying new ideas in the garden (and in painting) keeps it exciting. I was recently reminded of native Americans' "three sisters" gardens (squash/beans/corn) when reading Robin Kimmerer's book, Braiding Sweetgrass. I tried planting a three sisters garden two summers ago, but the deer ate everything. That was the final incentive to put up a 7 foot fence.

When I take painting trips to Worlds End State Park, I visit their garden with flowers native to Pennsylvania. A few years ago I happened to be there on a day the ranger was giving away native plants. The penstemon and baptisia are now thriving along my driveway.

Visitor's Center and Demonstration Garden at World's End State Park, PA

French Gardens

I've had the good fortune of visiting gardens in several other countries, but the ones that have influenced me the most were those I visited during the years I lived in Tours, France. The Touraine region has a climate similar to where I live in Central Pennsylvania, and most vegetables that do well there also do well at home.

One of my favorite gardens in Tours is a small city square planted with blue flowers and silver foliage (olive trees) that compliment the white limestone buildings and blue slate roofs. Planting flowers to match their surroundings makes so much sense!

Place Chateauneuf, Tours, watercolor & ink. Sold.

Here is a painting of a typical French garden with iris, roses, and peonies, at their peak in the month of June. These gardeners have shared their knowledge (and seeds) with me over the years.

A French Garden, oil on canvas, 12 x 9" Available.

The French have a way of turning even the humblest of spaces into something beautiful. Notice how the owner of this narrow strip of dirt along the bike path near Tours managed to squeeze so much color into it with the hollyhocks. This idea of creating beauty out of small and simple spaces inspires my home gardening. (And, as I write this, hollyhock seeds are sprouting under grow lights in my basement for planting along the new garden fence.)

Maisons Blanches ("White Houses"), watercolor & ink. Available.

Hollyhocks, Touraine, France, watercolor & ink. Available.

Hollyhocks under the grow lights

There are several public parks in Tours that are designed, planted professionally, and maintained all year long. On this day I was captivated by the sparkling of the sunlight on the flowers. It's an effect I try to create in my garden by planting masses of flowers to be backlit by the sun (as in "Poppies & Pods").

Dahlias in the Jardin Botanique, Tours, watercolor & ink. Private collection.

Vineyards are common in French home gardens and I have painted many of them over the years.

Farmhouse, Touraine, oil painting. Private collection.

Notice how the rows lead you right down to the door of the house. Also, you can see the gray slate roofs (typical of Touraine) in this painting and in the two paintings below.

Vignes, Loire Valley, watercolor & ink. Available.

Sketch of garden in Veigné, France. Private collection.

After seeing so many vineyards in France I had to have a grape arbor in my garden!

Backyard grape arbor in September

My favorite gardens (and garden paintings) involve "organized chaos." By this I mean a definite design, strong, clearly defined beds within which the flowers or vegetables are allowed to run wild. Similarly, with painting I like a planned composition and then to allow some looseness to the rendering and accidents or unplanned discoveries to occur. I'll write more about this in a future blog.

In the meanwhile, please leave a comment about gardens you've visited. What techniques or ideas have you brought home to use in your garden?

 Spring Garden, Hameau, Versailles, watercolor & ink. Available.