Botany

Botany

July 2026

I’ve been taking a course on botany for botanical Illustrators this summer and amazing things are happening. It’s been ages since I’ve taken a science class and I entered the experience with trepidation. But it has borne unexpected and thrilling results. I had forgotten how science invites us to look more deeply at the world.  I walk out into my backyard and really see the Oat grass and dandelions and Ox tongue (which cleverly imitates its next door neighbor, the dandelion, so I won’t pluck it out.) Each plant is so unique and each one has adapted to numerous challenges to their existence on Earth. Many plants and animals have lost that challenge to survive and gone extinct. But these plants, these mustard weeds, wild Oat, mint and lemon balm are the victors, the survivors. So many adaptions have been made, so many experiments went into creating the form they currently inhabit. I can only wonder at the brilliance of these plants, and all life forms including humans.

While life expresses itself around us all the time many of us lose ourselves in our phone, computer and other devices. We forget to put all that junk away and just go outside, find some form of life, even a dandelion intrepidly making its way up through the crack in a sidewalk, or a bee sucking up the pollen from a flower, and sit like an idiot staring and marveling at the wonder of life. There’s been an onslaught of tech and toxic messages from all directions lately. Now, more than ever, I need to remember to go outside, sit down anywhere and listen to any flower, tree or “weed” that calls for my attention as they tell me that life is good.