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Blog #3 Friends of Silver Falls Native Plant Project- Overcoming White Fright!

This is the third in a series of blogs I’m writing about a native plant illustration commission I received from the Friends of Silver Falls State Park (FOSF). To read the first blog click here. White fright! Having gone to all the trouble of making beautiful new sketchpads for this project (see my last blog), when it […]

Friends of Silver Falls Native Plant Illustration Project- Getting started!

This is the second blog in a series I’m writing about a large native plant illustration commission I received from the Friends of Silver Falls State Park (FOSF). To read the first blog click here. Tús maith, leath na hoibre, A good start is half the work! Irish Proverb When I first received this commission I was […]

Native plant Illustrations for Silver Falls State Park- a timely enquiry leads to a dream commission.

Pen and ink illustration. Western ground ginger, Asarum caudatum, one of the native plants growing at Silver Falls State Park. The Friends of Silver Falls State Park Earlier this year I visited the Nature Store at the South Falls area of Silver Falls State Park. I was hoping the attractive gift store might be interested in carrying some […]

Nature Trail 2014, A Natural Sketchbook Exchange- the beginning!

One of the most exciting, fun and challenging projects I am involved in this year is a sketchbook exchange called Nature Trail 2014- A Natural Sketchbook Exchange. There are 15 botanical artists in the exchange, hailing from many different places- the United Kingdom, USA, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. As the exchange’s blog explains- “Each artists’ […]

We all need a community of practitioners to grow and flourish in our own creativity.

What I have learned about sustaining creativity and Botanical Art Facebook groups. Over the course of this year I will be blogging regularly about my participation in an exciting new project called “Nature Trail 2014 – a natural sketchbook exchange.”
 However, before I start blogging about this sketchbook odyssey I would like to explain how […]

Native Plant Appreciation Week, Month,Year?

© Aislinn Adams, 2011 Western wild ginger, Asarum caudatum Gardening with Native Plants. I love gardening with wild flowers- or native plants as they are more accurately named. Long before I decided to return to college to study horticulture, I was interested in gardening with wild flowers. This has meant that no matter where I […]

The Oregon Fawn Lily, Erythronium oregonum and its many names.

© 2011 Aislinn Adams Oregon Fawn Lily, Erythronium oregonum. The Fawn lily, Erythronium oregonum, and its many common names. Erythronium oregonum has many common names- giant white fawn lily, Oregon fawn lily, dog’s tooth violet, trout lily, adder’s tongue, lamb’s tongue. Maybe this is why the Historic Deepwood Estate here in Salem, Oregon- where I […]

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”

© 2005 Aislinn Adams Lady Hillingdon rose, Rosa ‘Lady Hillingdon’ Aislinn, Aisling or Ashling – What’s in a name? When I was young very few people had the name Aislinn- an old Irish (Gaelic) word meaning dream or vision and a genre of poetry. Most people spell the name ‘Aisling’ or ‘Ashling’ (more phonetically) and although […]

Pacific Northwest native- red flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum- a favorite on both sides of the Atlantic!

Red flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum. My botanical illustration this week is part of an on-going series I am creating – Pacific Northwest Native Plants. Sadly, the actual shrub from which I sketched this illustration is no longer alive, having succumbed to a bad ice storm several winters ago. I have since planted more red flowering […]