New Growth

Posted on March 12, 2024 by shobha

A few weeks ago, if you were paying attention, I’d hinted at a new and creative project coming up. It’s now time to reveal what’s got me so excited. I’ve been invited to participate in “Lyndhurst In Bloom”. As the name suggests, it is an event held annually at the historical Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York.

Select floral designers and artists are invited to decorate a room each at the mansion. It’s always resplendent in flowers and a perfect way to usher in spring. Each space is uniquely highlighted in flowers reflecting the creative skills of the decorator. Now, as we well know, I am not a florist or floral designer. However, I am a gardener, an artist and designer, as well as a scientist. This opportunity presents a wonderful challenge to get creative with those various skills and experiences. My goal is to offer an aesthetically pleasing yet informative, instructive display that challenges the viewer to see the botanical world a bit differently and appreciate it with an enhanced perspective.

What am I blathering about? I’m aiming to bring attention to the importance of safeguarding the environment by understanding seeds! To show the genius of nature’s work in designing not just the seeds themselves but how they’re packaged in pods or heads specifically suited to how they will be disseminated. I want to share my awe and expose everybody to the sheer diversity and the exquisite nature of the myriad designs.

Between my years of observing, working with and, painting nature, I find that, while flowers with their range of colors, rightfully have the viewer swooning, seedpods too deserve due recognition and respect. After all, all of life begins with a seed. By understanding this and making the effort to see them up close, one cannot but admire them. What seemingly appears innocuous, mostly monochromatic and undeserving of close examination, is in reality way more impressive than the flamboyant flower.

Of course, one cannot exist without the other. My point in all of this is that by seeing just how amazingly beautiful seedpods and seed heads are, we will be recommitted to preserving our plants and the natural world at large. Pollinators and/or herbivores/omnivores are often specific to only certain plants. Consider this, while the common milkweed is crucial to the life-cycle of the Monarch butterflies, it is the Carpenter bee that is supremely suited to pollinate it. It behooves the gardener to have a diversity of flora to support the diversity of fauna required to keep the environment in equilibrium.

With my installation at Lyndhurst In Bloom, I hope to be sharing all of this through my seedpod paintings, beautiful displays and arrangements of various seedpods to rival any floral counterparts and simply, to tell folk to take time to marvel at Nature’s brilliance. The ultimate mastermind of this vast and wondrous yet fragile world. We humans are her custodians. We must execute that responsibility as best we can. Preserve, conserve, serve.

Wish me luck please!

Note: Lyndhurst In Bloom will be happening April 20 & 21. Tickets are now available. Do grab yours! In past years, they’ve sold out quickly.

Getting ready for the event involves a review of the raw materials! –

Meanwhile in the garden –

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Designing Seeds

Posted on February 22, 2022 by pgbundil

I’ve been seed obsessed for a while. Each seed is a whole world unto itself. The future, yours and mine and every other life form depends on the survival and viability of seeds. Seen as symbols of hope and prosperity, the importance of seeds cannot be overstated. We know that much for sure.

And so, we harvest and collect seeds. We preserve and store. We sow and grow. Fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, medicinals – everything we need is sought and coveted. National and international repositories keep all known seeds for future needs and by doing so they strive to secure our future.

At this time of year, gardeners in the northern hemisphere are gearing up to sow seeds for their gardens. As am I. However, due to time and schedule constraints, I’m not planning to start too many. Instead, I’m going to make seed bombs to disperse. It’s an experiment so I’ll just have to see how it all turns out. The scientist in me is excited about the experiment. The gardener in me is skeptical – the whole thing seems a bit iffy.

My reasoning is, instead of directly sprinkling seeds such as poppies wherever one wants them to grow, seed bombs could increase the chance of success as they will hold the seeds down, perhaps safeguard them from birds, and, when weather conditions are right, supply the seeds with an immediate boost of nutrition. Sort of give the seeds a leg up. Similarly, instead of struggling to squeeze in seedlings amidst established plantings, seed bombs might serve better.

Like I’ve already said, it’s an experiment. For very little investment in time, energy and money. If it succeeds, the returns could be big. Fingers crossed. Click here for the link to the website and recipe I’ll be using to make the seed bombs.

But it is not just seeds to grow that have my attention. I’ve become deeply enamored with seedpods, heads and capsules. In examining them to paint, the diversity and ingenuity of these vessels just blows my mind. Each design is not simply functional but also very beautiful. To my eyes, they are as striking as flowers.

I’m awed by how the plants have evolved so their seed dispersing structures are exquisite in form and function.

Some plants like hellebores , drop their seeds around themselves and keep their babies close. Columbines are more about independence and spread their seeds away from themselves, giving their progeny greater freedom to thrive but still in the same neighborhood of the parent. And then there are the likes of milkweed and dandelion that let the wind carry the seeds much further away. It occurs to me that we, human parents, can identify with these methods. Am I right?!

Seeds – where would we be without them? Would we even be?

Here’s a small sampling of seedpods I’ve painted:

Swamp mallow

Baptisia, false indigo

Tree peony

Magnolia grandiflora

Milkweed

Columbine

Wisteria

Poppy

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Bulb-Manic Season

Posted on November 2, 2021 by shobha

My mania showed this past weekend as I unpacked the shipment of bulbs. Sorting and combining the bulbs for the assigned areas is easy. Looking at the quantity at the end is hugely intimidating. What was I thinking when I placed the order way back in summer?

I was dreaming of swathes of color in myriad shapes all through the spring. Old favorites and a good measure of new choices. A few deeply coveted but pricey ones. In my mind’s eye, I saw bursts of early, minor bulbs announcing the arrival of spring. Then a wild party of loud, happy daffodils and fritillaria seeming to rise and bob from a gurgling brook of blue scillas and hyacinthoides frothing with blue and white muscari. Followed by an impressive parade of alliums and camassia accompanied by ornithogalums and nectaroscordum (now classified as Allium siculum). And that was just the meadow.

In front, a riotous mix of tulips punctuated by the dark purple/plum beauty of precious F. Perica, will be the stars of the season. Later, the irises, alliums, camassia, nectarosordums will weave their magic with the emerging perennials. That’s what I was thinking.

Confronted now by about a thousand bulbs I did pause briefly (very briefly) to question my sanity. My family, severely guilt tripped into helping with bulb planting have actually come to terms with what they recognize as a mania in me. But being long-suffering sports and wanting to avoid any more guilt I might lay on them, they went to work.

The front garden has been completed. The meadow will wait till next weekend. I also potted up a slew of bulbs – covered securely they will spend most of the winter outside in a sheltered spot and safe from curious critters. In late winter, as the bulbs awaken and start emerging, the pots will be brought inside to jump start our spring. Just in time to revive our winter weary spirits.

I put in a bunch of hyacinth bulbs for cooling a month ago – they will be ready for forcing in January. The perfect antidote to the winter blues that start setting in post-holidays. This past week, I started a fair quantity of paperwhites and amaryllis. The former should be ready for Thanksgiving and the latter will enhance the holiday atmosphere through December.

With so much joy to offer, is it any wonder that I’m completely mad about bulbs?

Note:Enjoy the images below. I’m particularly pleased with the success of my all-natural witch and cat – neighbors walking by took photos and selfies, children thoroughly bought into the display and even stroked the cat repeatedly! On Halloween, many took their family pictures with witch and cat. I absolutely loved knowing that I was able to give my neighborhood some joy and fun. After the dismal holiday last year, we all deserved a very happy Halloween.

Said witch and her pet head to the compost heap in the woods today. The pumpkins will be split open to not only help with their decomposition but many woodland creatures will be able to feed on them.

I put in my watercolor rendering of some bulbs because at this time, bulbs are growing only in pictures and my mind.