BIDWELL PARK, CHICO, CA

One of the additional pleasures of botanical illustration is taking botanical art classes in Botanical Gardens and using plant materials that come directly from the garden. Each garden has its own personality. Filoli in Woodside, California, is a collection of garden rooms much like Hidcote Gardens in England; each garden-room has its own palette of colors, fountain, and hedge. The Huntington Gardens in Los Angeles is a larger and more grand garden with collections of exotic plants from many parts of the world--Japan, China, & Australia to name a few; in my opinion the most outstanding garden at the Huntington is the Desert Garden which to me resembles a moon-scape and is like entering another world.  The Robinson Gardens, also in Los Angeles, belonged to the Robinson Family who owned a chain of department stores in Southern California. The garden was planned by Virginia Robinson. It is a smaller and more personal garden with roses, camillias, and a remarkable collection of palms and cicads.  Say something interesting about your business here.

                                           Ceres occidentalis

                                            Psathyrella uliginicola