Before and After ( c ) David Foster 2015 conservatory with a diverse mix of exotic botanicals , and uses water as habitat and for entertainment of visitors with musical water / light shows . It is decidedly more formal than I usually prefer , yet I was happy to wander regularly through the seasonally planted , well choreographed flower beds – vast numbers of particular flowers often arranged in a rainbow-like color scheme . My joy and challenge was to fully experience the whole of this array , and at the same time focus my artistic attention on an individual flower and see what it offered me . This search afforded several special visual moments , such as “ At the Center of It All ” ( white tulip ) and “ Crowning ” ( pink poppy ).
One of the special draws for me to the conservatory was its wonderfully varied collection of ferns . I loved to see and photograph the grace of a frond unfolding as the plant comes to life . Each variety of fern had its own particular emergence and collectively they were a wonder to behold .
The grand pleasure of spending Spring exploring this abundance of gardens was that it was changing daily , so that multiple visits each week offered up new beauty and intrigue for my appreciative eye and for my artwork .
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