Artist Statement:
Phoebe Watson’s gardens were “a source of delight” she wrote to friends; “I can scarcely wait for your coming”. Her gardens began with a bed to the east of the house and expanded to include vegetables and fruit trees and then a “palette garden” to honour her deceased brother Homer Watson’s colour-splashed palette. Phoebe mentions having peonies and violas in the palette garden and there must have been other flowers to represent the orange and yellow part of the spectrum.
In my garden, I delight at seeing orange Monarchs (Danaus Plexippus) alight on yellow coneflower (rudbeckia laciniata) to drink nectar. The striking colour combination reminds me how fortunate I am to witness the interaction of the endangered Monarch with native rudbeckia. It is tangible evidence that being stewards of the land, in our own backyards, can enable the continuation of important ecosystems.