Hi friends! 

This is what it's looking like around here these days:

So you know I've got all my gardening books out, dreaming of the warmer, more colorful days that are just around the corner!

I'm so excited to share this post with you because I've gathered some friends here whose art AND gardens inspire me so much. Two of my most favorite things.

Here we go!

Anne Butera

I’ve been a gardener for much longer than I’ve been an artist. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. As a child I was both an artist and a gardener. We create so easily when we’re children, don’t we? My mom is a gardener and so I developed a love of plants beside her while she tended her garden and houseplants. As I grew up, although I became discouraged and forgot how to be an artist, I never stopped growing things. I’ve gardened on the windowsills of my dorm rooms and apartments, on fire escapes and rooftops and in a community garden plot. When we bought our first house and I finally had my own garden in my own backyard, it felt like paradise. For many years my garden was the outlet for my creativity, but eventually I came back to art and began teaching myself watercolor, too. It was only natural to turn to my garden for inspiration.

Anne's website

Anne's blog

Anne's newsletter 

Anne's garden Checkout these videos! Total eye candy.

Becky Dawson

I run a full time art business, and I’m a stay at home mom to two kids. My life is very full, and sometimes it’s hard to carve out time for anything other than work and family!

My yard and garden are my hobby. My ongoing personal art project. My sanctuary. I’ve come across a lot of life lessons I need to be reminded of, while working in the garden. It forces me to be patient, which is something I struggle with otherwise. I’ve also let go of the need to be perfect. I find so much more beauty and joy in the looseness of it all.

Becky's website

Becky's Gallery & Gift Shop

Becky's Instagram

Becky's newsletter

Laura Bray

Laly Mille

The past few days have really felt like spring, what a joy to spend plenty of time outside (without a coat! in February!). Walking, gardening, listening to the birds, watching the first butterflies, spotting the pretty heads of primulas and daffodils, removing dead branches from the ground... It all fuels my soul. Yesterday I discovered the gigantic stems of some wild roses rambling in the grass. I put on my gloves, ready to put up a good fight (those thorns!!) and managed to train them along an old stone wall so they can soon bloom in pretty pink pompoms. I felt like a gardening warrior and was pretty proud of myself!

Being an artist, I often get asked which of the "masters" I look up to, which one inspires me the most. Well, to me it's definitely Nature! She's the ultimate artist and I see proof of it every time I put on my wellies and step outside the door. Connecting to nature is my inspiration and my therapy. It soothes my sensitive soul and clears my over-busy mind, making space for new dreams and ideas. Then when I come back to the studio, it all ripples out onto the canvas or in my art journal.

I love to grow and paint flowers. I find them to be the most forgiving and satisfying subject (as long as you're not trying to make them realistic!). Roses especially. In the garden they do demand quite a bit of work, and painting them is often quicker and easier! Both are worth it though, and whether it's a painting or a fresh bouquet, I love to bring the joy of nature inside.

In a few months our little family will be downsizing and moving closer to the city, so I will say goodbye to our current huge and gorgeous garden, goodbye to all the blooms my husband and I have planted and cared for. But I so look forward to starting anew in a smaller space, where there will be less of the hard maintenance work to do, and more of the simple joy of planting and growing close to the house, little pockets of color and beauty here and there, maybe a few pots too... No matter the size, a garden is a gift and a joy!

Laly's Instagram 

Laly's online classes: Paint flowers with me!  Wild Roses  and Flower Flow 

Lori Roberts (that's me!)

I love an unruly, wild, colorful, overflowing garden. One that joyfully fills and surpasses the bounds of its structure. I plant methodically, yet with a bit of wild abandon, and I love watching how everything mingles and grows together. The entire process brings me joy, the experimentation, the anticipation, the informality, the impermanence, the constant ebb and flow of the seasons, and the constant interplay of color, flower, and bee. Gardening teaches me patience and flexibility. And it nurtures my need to create beyond the studio. As an artist I rarely use pinks and purples in my work but love those colors in the garden. And like my paintings, I enjoy bringing a sense of whimsy and humor to the garden. I'm always looking for fun sculptures, hand painted signs, rusty salvaged materials, and other works of art to bring my garden to life.

Get your free printable garden planner here.