illustration | A Gardener's Notebook

Aquilegia Canadensis from The Floral world and garden guide (1878)

THIS elegant but hardy perennial is, as its name implies, a native of Canada, where it usually grows about nine inches high ; but in this country, however, it generally attains the same size as the common Columbine, which it greatly resembles in the appearance of its leaves, though it differs in having its flowers of a different form and colour. It may be easily propagated by dividing the roots either in the autumn or the spring ; or it may be raised from seed, which it ripens in great abundance. In the latter case, however, the seeds should be sown as soon as they are ripe, as otherwise they will be a long time before they germinate. The very graceful, nodding, scarlet and orange flowers, which appear in April and. May, are nearly two inches in length, and on each pedicel there are two bracts, so near the flower as to have almost the appearance of a distinct green calyx.

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Explore Hundreds of Exquisite Botanical Collages Created by an 18th-Century Septuagenarian Artist via Colossal

At age 72, Mary Delany (1700-1788) devoted herself to her art practice, taking up a form of decoupage to create an exquisite collection of botanical collages from dyed and cut paper. She interpreted many of the delicate specimens she encountered in Buckinghamshire while staying with her friend, the Duchess of Portland, through layered pieces on black backdrops. From the wispy clover-like leaves of an oxalis plant to the wildly splayed petals of the daffodil, the realistic works are both stunning for their beauty and faithfulness to the original lifeforms.

Read and View This Entire Article – Explore Hundreds of Exquisite Botanical Collages Created by an 18th-Century Septuagenarian Artist via Colossal