Hibiscus grandiflorus 48”x18” oil on Canvas 2012
I’d been interested in biology for years before the Feast of Flowers project began. For a period of time after graduate school I worked in various landscape jobs both in Mississippi and in coastal South Carolina. During the mid 1980’s I, along with my business partner, Frances Parker, opened a landscape company and nursery in Beaufort, South Carolina, the queen of the Lowcountry. After observing the resilience of indigenous plants in the wake of various climate catastrophes I became interested in the use of these plants in landscape/garden design. Frances Parker was a noted plant whisperer in the area. The garden in her historic eighteenth century house in Beaufort was legend. Tourist flocked to see her deft creation. Along the way I became interested in Linnean classification and was determined to learn the Latin names of every wildflower. After committing a few hundred to memory I decided that my feeble brain was incapable of absorbing that much information.
St. Johns Backwater 32”x46” 2008 from Liquid Peace exhibition.
Part of the Feast of Flowers project was designed to celebrate indigenous plants and plant communities. I spent a lot of time along the St. Johns River from its headwaters in south Florida to the barrier islands north and east of Jacksonville, Florida. Much of this exploration was along the river’s margins in human powered watercraft or simply hiking trails to get to the water’s edge. One spectacular marginal plant is Hibiscus grandiflorus. The pale pink flowers measure up to eight inches across. While searching for themes and images to be addressed in this project I stood on a boardwalk above a wetland that flanked a tributary of the St. Johns. The wild hibiscus were putting on a show. Various butterflies and bugs were having a field day in the luscious blossoms. I noticed something peculiar about the plants. The velvet covered leaves had many holes in them. The idea of feast blasted through my mind. In order for us to enjoy flowers we need to accept the feast as part of the natural order. Another angle for my story.
Beautiful! Francis was such an important mentor -- and she lived in the house my forefather's built. Once she let me stay over to see if anyone came back to visit me!