Flower Power - 8/23/25

Written By Tamara Lion

The bounty of summer feels like such a happy gift, doesn’t it? Exploring this new area of Southwest Virgina has shown me some trees and plants I’m not used to seeing. One particular walk I came upon a row of lush Magnolia trees with blooms the size of dinner plates! The gentle fragrance followed me quite a ways after I passed them and I smiled at the joy that brought me. Many summer afternoons I’ll take a walk along the riverfront and marvel at the variety of blooms in vibrant colors.

Large, bright orange Lily with green leaves of different sizes and colors grow around it. The sun is shining on them making the orange bloom very bright.

The Lilies along the river thrive in the sunshine. The vibrant colors brought out by the sunshine really appeal to this artist!

Pale purple flowers are nestled among deep green leaves.

These sweet little flowers were tucked down by the ground and would have been easy to miss if the passerby weren’t paying attention.

A pond has a fountain in the middle and is surrounded by plants and trees of various colors with a walking path around it.

A short weekend trip to Fayetteville, NC to explore and visit the Botanical Gardens there. While it wasn’t large, there was a wonderful array trees, flowers, plants, and sculptures. There was also a sweet children’s area with cute sculptures and learning opportunities.

A garden patch of pink and orange coneflowers near a walking path. On the other side of the sidewalk is a bench in the shape of a butterfly with trees around it.

Along the walking path through the Botanical Gardens were hidden gems like this butterfly bench. The coneflowers were attracting bees and butterflies alike.

Lily pads sit on the surface of water. Some of the leaves are yellow and pink. Some leaves are dark green and very large.

The pond in the middle of the Botanical Gardens has a lovely pond and fountain, with a border of Water Lilies. I found the variety of shapes, colors, and sizes of the Lily pads so interesting!

Large green water Lily pads sit on a pond surface. On one lily pad sits a dragonfly near water drops. The head of a turtle is poking out of the water near the dragonfly.

After watching for a while, a dragonfly landed on one of the lily pads and up popped the head of a large turtle. He was too large and heavy to pull out of the water onto the lily pad and had to be content watching the dragonfly from the water.

A tall thin stalk grows up in the sunshine. The end of the stalk has tiny pink flowers.
A woman stands next to a sculpture of a green frog standing upright holding a lantern. The frog is dressed like a human in a black waistcoat and orange vest with bowtie. There are trees and plants in the background.

Who could resist Mr. Frog from Alice and Wonderland? Of course I had to get a picture with him!

Bright green and dark red leaves are planted with mulch around them. The leaves are a variety of sizes and shapes.

The varigated leaves and shapes are enchanting!

A large water Lily pad sits on the surface of the water with a small turtle sitting on top. The sun is shinging and there is a variety of lily pads on the pond.

I found this tiny little turtle sitting there having a sunbath looked so cute.

A wooden dock sits at the edge of a pond. On the dock is a sculpture of a frog sitting with a fishing pole in his hand.

Another charming sculpture, this time Mr. Frog spending a lazy afternoon fishing. So adorable!

Four individual paintings each with a letter of the word 'LOVE'. Each letter has flowers around it that start with the letter depicted.

Seeing all the varieties of blooms this summer has inspired me to paint them. I decided to paint the letters spelling the word ‘LOVE’ and each one has flowers that start with that letter. It was such a fun project in watercolors, and I thought what better border than some metallic gold swirls! These are 8” x 10” on textured cotton paper.

Four watercolor paintings, each of a letter from the word 'LOVE'. Each painting has flowers that start with the letter in the painting. There is a gold metallic border. Each painting is framed in a pale blue and gold wooden frame.

The finished watercolor paintings. I chose these frames because I thought the pale blue and gold accented the colors and gold in each painting.

Tamara Lion
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Winter Blues - 2/2/25