Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists

GALLERY

CALENDAR 2023

Ottawa society of Botanical artists

Plants native to the National Capital Region and surroundings are featured by members of the Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists in their 2023 Calendar of contemporary botanical art.

Wintergreen

Gaultheria procumbens

In its native habitat, this aromatic evergreen is found in the forest. Red berries form in the summer after their white blossoms have faded.

Canadian Wild Ginger

Asarum canadense

Usually found in shady woods, several patches of this low, colony-forming perennial can also be found in the Central Experimental Farm's (CEF) Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Hidden below the leaves, solitary flowers bloom in early spring at ground level.

Yellow Trout Lily

Erythronium americanum

The yellow trout-lily is a spring ephemeral, with flowers poking through winter leaf cover for a few weeks in early spring. Once leaves are on the trees and the canopy closes, trout lilies disappear for another year.

White Trillium

Trillium grandiflorum

The distinctive three-petaled white trillium grows densely in woodlands and is the provincial flower and symbol of Ontario. This specimen was found in Ottawa's McCarthy Woods. These spring ephemerals bloom around Mother's Day.

Prairie Smoke

Geum triflorum

With clusters of reddish-pink, maroon or purple flowers, this mounding perennial blooms from early spring to early summer. It can also be found in Fletcher's Backyard Garden, which holds an annual sale of native plants like this one every spring.

Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid

Cypripedium reginae

The Purdon Conservation Area in the Mississippi Valley near Ottawa is home to the largest colony of these orchids in Canada. They bloom from mid-June to early July and make a truly spectacular display.

Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta

This cheerful widespread native to Ontario grows vigorously in the artist's Fitzroy Harbour garden throughout the summer season and into September.

Harebell

Campanula rotundifolia

The beautiful and delicate harebell is a short but fast-growing perennial that loves the sun and attracts hummingbirds. They grow in the artist's urban garden from mid-summer to early September.

Jerusalem Artichoke

Helianthus tuberosus

The Jerusalem artichoke is a species of sunflower whose tuber is enjoyed as a root vegetable. This plant was a "volunteer" in the artist's city garden, possibly planted by a bird or a gust of wind. It blooms in late August through September.

New England Aster

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

This Ontario native grows naturally in a variety of sites - by the roadside, near marshes and forest edges. A showy early autumn flower with a colour range from lavender to blue to white, the aster blooms in the artist's urban garden of native plants throughout September.

Yarrow

Achillea borealis

A hardy perennial, yarrow has showy flower heads made of tiny, tightly-packed flowers rising above clusters of ferny leaves. Often seen growing naturally in the Ontario wild lands, yarrow can also be found in Alta Vista's allotment gardens.

Dwarf Lake Iris

Iris lacustris

The painting shows a bird's eye point of view when the flowers bloom in early June. About 10 cm high and spreading out by underground roots, Dwarf Lake Iris is a rare plant in Canada. It's found growing in the wild along the sandy shores of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. Its habitat is threatened by development, erosion and changes in water levels.

Check out our past exhibitions