Books are a great source of inspiration for me. I’ve devoured books since I was a child and I continue to be fascinated by the beauty of a printed page bound up within its tangible casing. Over the years, I have built up a collection of botanical based books that sit in my studio library, ready for me to grab anytime I’m feeling stuck for inspiration or simply want to be transported to another world for a while. I thought I’d share some of these delights with you- my essentials for any botanical artist or flower lover.

Rosy’s Garden by Satomi Ichikawa is very meaningful to me. It was the very first botanical book that sparked my imagination for the floral world. I remember learning about Lily of the Valley from this one, which remains my favourite spring bloom to this day! It is a fantastic entry point book for the young floral enthusiast in your life.

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. What can I say about this book? It is quite perfect- a journal style sketchbook of painted flowers, verse, seasonal notes and observations. Edith Holden was a naturalist in the early 1900’s, writing this particular collection in 1906. It is a joy to read through and is my go to book for seasonal reflection.

Floriography by Jessica Roux is a newer book to my collection. I purchased it, not only for its beauty, but because I liked the simplicity of how it was laid out. Each page highlights a different plant and its meaning within the Victorian Language of Flowers. I have found myself picking it up time and time again in the short time I’ve owned it.

Treasures of Botanical Art by Shirley Sherwood and Martyn Rix. This is one of the books under the publication of Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Kew is the biggest conservatory of plants in the world, housing 50 000 living plants, alongside an herbarium of some of the oldest collected and preserved plants. I hope to make it there someday, but until I do this book is fantastic source for botanical art inspiration sharing a collection of different artists’ art from around the world.

The Gardener’s Garden by Phaidon is more of a garden inspiration than art inspiration book, but inspiring nonetheless. It highlights public gardens from around the world of all different styles. It has given me ideas of places to visit on future travels to gather ideas from.

I regularly look to poetry within my work as it is an art form that intersects nicely with the work that I do. Blue Iris by Mary Oliver speaks to my soul every time I pick it up. This collection of her poems and essays speaks to the beauty and wonder of plants, which of course feeds the work that I create. She captures feelings with crafted words in a way that I never could.

And of course, I’ve picked up a variety of vintage wildflower guides along the way. Some have been gifted to me and I always keep my eye out for them in used bookstores or yard sales. They are always useful for learning about the scientific information about each plant. I hope to grow this collection further in the future so I have more resources to turn to in my learning.

I hope this inspires you in your own collecting and learning! While these are the books I own, I also have read many books that I have borrowed from the library that have inspired my practice- I may need to do another post to share those ones. I also have a giant list of books I hope to pick up and add to my library in the future and I am always adding new ideas to it. Do you have any books that you think I must look into? What inspires your musings on the natural world?

I happened to stumble across this video today- a peek into the studio of Kathryn Davey, a natural dye textile designer from Ireland. I just find process videos mesmerizing. Some day, I would like to learn how to dye textiles myself, but until then, I could watch this process all day long.

Perhaps I'll end up taking a course, but I notice Kathryn has some resources for natural dying if you are interested in this process as well.

And while I won’t be able to invest in her beautifully hand dyed knit socks, I will ogle at them from a far and perhaps also convince myself to learn how to knit…

From Tidings
by Richard Jackson

1. The Annunciation
Like a sentence you discover and read after too
many
years, after you think the world's heart has turned
to dust, the air shriveling from your lungs, though
you cannot understand some of the words
for they seem like stars with no owners,
something like the ache of flowers for their seeds,
and you begin to realize it is a sentence
that celebrates what you could only imagine
like the canticles of mountain streams,
despite the black hearts perched, years later, on
branches,
despite the moon thinning with hunger
then bloating like a starving child,
despite the tracer rounds streaming
like dandelion seeds the Child will blow across His
room,
this sentence with its riverbed of stars,
this sentence that carries you too
the way a leaf is pulled downstream, because this
you begin to realize, is not the song of a seed
fallen on stone, not some light scorched
into the dunes of the sky, but a phrase
whose wings fill the room, and you,––
you are that word which had remained
unnoticed in this sentence, and you begin
to speak with that light that quivers
like a branch, your own lips slightly moving
like a petal the bee has just left,
and you begin to realize you have lived
your whole life in this sentence
gradually unfolding towards its end,
the way the moon now ploys the sky,
}the way what you once thought was a mere star
now turns out to be a galaxy.

The First of December has me pausing, to slow down and reflect. I’ve been reminded of this lately in the readings and podcasts I’ve been taking in. They have me thinking about how I’m approaching this season and how also how I’m responding. One podcast that has struck a chord with me is The Calm Christmas podcast by Beth Kempton. She has collected such a delightful variety of readings, reflections, ideas and recipes to put focus on for a slow approach to the upcoming holiday. It really sits well with my soul.

This poem comes from another collection of advent readings I am participating in reading each day. I had to read it a few times to really make sense of it, but the phrasing felt so rich. My eyes continually travel back to “something like the ache of flowers for their seeds”- what a strong image for the gardener in me. For those interested in this faith-focused advent reading, Biola University puts out a project each year of art, poetry, scripture, song and reflection that has always resonated with me strongly.

Beth Kempton’s prompt for December 1 was to “take a walk, whatever the weather”. Our weather was not particularly inviting with a gusty, grey mood to the morning, but I’m glad I followed her cue. I found myself enjoying the surprisingly mild air and looking for wintry bits of foliage to collect. I came home with a pocket full of branches adorned with clusters of white berries to add to the greens I’ve been decking my halls with.

However your start to December is looking, I encourage you to also take a moment and follow Beth’s prompt- welcome the month in with a slow walk to enjoy that winter air.