I’m reading your lovely tribute to Mary Delany, as I’m watching two hummingbirds drinking from the native honeysuckle outside my window. I can imagine Mary creating a collage of the delicate honeysuckle flower. Once again, you have introduced me to an incredible woman and her beautiful artwork. Thank you!
In one of life's crazy coincidences, I just heard Mary Delany's name listening to a podcast two days ago and made a mental note to look up her botanicals. What a wonderful story...and your flowers are absolutely gorgeous!
What a wonderful bloom of an essay, Sarah and a fascinating tribute to Mary Delaney, whom I had never heard of but now count among the many women of history I admire (yes, she sounded just like Jane Austen in her protestations about marriage being forced on women!) Her art is beautiful and I am very fond of collage art. Your garden is glorious, Sarah. I am sure you are looking forward to spring again in New Hampshire. I have always aspired to a green thumb but have never really pursued it, even when I had a home where I could have cultivated a flower or vegetable garden. Now it seems the remainder of my life will be more about terrace or balcony gardens, in beautiful Barcelona, but that can be wonderful, too. Thanks for this glimpse of spring in the winter!
Thank you, Amy! I hadn’t known about her either before last year. Her achievements are pretty astounding, especially considering all the strictures on her life. And thanks for the garden compliment! The flowers of June feel very far away right now. And Barcelona sounds perfectly wonderful, and there will be gardens to explore there!
Thanks, I think so too! And good point, to think of all we’ve lost. Mary Delany had a lot going on in her life, but she wasn’t interrupted constantly by emails, texts, social media etc.
What a beautiful post, Sarah—Mary’s story, her captivating art, Molly’s poem, your garden. Molly is a neighbor, as delightful as you’d imagine. I’ll make sure she sees this.
Thank you! I didn’t know about her either, until my friend Meg introduced me. And now I feel like could keep on writing about her and looking at those collages.
Thanks, Ann! That means a lot, coming from you! And I know that you know the feeling of wanting to write a lot more about a subject, more than one posts’s worth. 💕
Oh, good! It’s an intriguing mix of biography (some of it a little speculative, imagining how Mary Delany might have felt in different situations) and memoir. And a beautiful book.
I’m reading your lovely tribute to Mary Delany, as I’m watching two hummingbirds drinking from the native honeysuckle outside my window. I can imagine Mary creating a collage of the delicate honeysuckle flower. Once again, you have introduced me to an incredible woman and her beautiful artwork. Thank you!
Beautiful, Barb! I’ll have to look and see if Mary Delany made a honeysuckle collage.
Agreed!
Meant to say - your flowers are gorgeous!
Thank you! It’s been an especially pretty spring and I’ve taken lots of photos…
Love Mrs. Delaney - and you introduce her so well. Especially nice that you included examples of her extraordinary work.
Thank you! I’m not sure why I never learned about her years ago, but better late than never! Her work is extraordinary.
In one of life's crazy coincidences, I just heard Mary Delany's name listening to a podcast two days ago and made a mental note to look up her botanicals. What a wonderful story...and your flowers are absolutely gorgeous!
I love when those coincidences happen! And thanks—it’s been a great spring for flowers, I think because of all the rain earlier.
What a wonderful bloom of an essay, Sarah and a fascinating tribute to Mary Delaney, whom I had never heard of but now count among the many women of history I admire (yes, she sounded just like Jane Austen in her protestations about marriage being forced on women!) Her art is beautiful and I am very fond of collage art. Your garden is glorious, Sarah. I am sure you are looking forward to spring again in New Hampshire. I have always aspired to a green thumb but have never really pursued it, even when I had a home where I could have cultivated a flower or vegetable garden. Now it seems the remainder of my life will be more about terrace or balcony gardens, in beautiful Barcelona, but that can be wonderful, too. Thanks for this glimpse of spring in the winter!
Thank you, Amy! I hadn’t known about her either before last year. Her achievements are pretty astounding, especially considering all the strictures on her life. And thanks for the garden compliment! The flowers of June feel very far away right now. And Barcelona sounds perfectly wonderful, and there will be gardens to explore there!
You always introduce us to the most interesting creatives!
Thank you, Kris! I learned about Mary Delany from my creative friend Meg!
What incredible botanical drawings. Wow.
They are incredible! And each one is a collage of tiny papers plated one on top of the other.
like a form of flat twilling; so creative yet the scientific precision stuns me
I think stunning is the right word! Combining art and science so beautifully….
What an amazing woman. Makes me think that in this age of media overload we’ve lost so much potential in ourselves and others. Many thanks
Thanks, I think so too! And good point, to think of all we’ve lost. Mary Delany had a lot going on in her life, but she wasn’t interrupted constantly by emails, texts, social media etc.
What a beautiful post, Sarah—Mary’s story, her captivating art, Molly’s poem, your garden. Molly is a neighbor, as delightful as you’d imagine. I’ll make sure she sees this.
Thank you, Rona! And I didn’t know that Molly is your neighbor! (Though I knew about Toronto.)
Wow - I had never heard of Mary Delany, but now I am absolutely intrigued. What a woman! Thanks for sharing
Same here! She is simply fascinating!
I love the artful mixing of poetry and history and gardening here— and the photos are gorgeous!
Thank you, Victoria! Mary Delany is a fascinating character.
So interesting—thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Victoria! Her work is really incredible.
Stunning artwork! I did not know about Mary Delany. Thanks so much for this.
Thank you! I didn’t know about her either, until my friend Meg introduced me. And now I feel like could keep on writing about her and looking at those collages.
This is utterly delightful, Sarah!
Thanks, Ann! I can’t believe I never knew about Mary Delany until a few weeks ago.
A fantastic post, Sarah - so interesting. Stunning artwork.
Thanks, Ann! That means a lot, coming from you! And I know that you know the feeling of wanting to write a lot more about a subject, more than one posts’s worth. 💕
Thanks for sharing this book with me! I'm off to find it. Another great review...
Oh, good! It’s an intriguing mix of biography (some of it a little speculative, imagining how Mary Delany might have felt in different situations) and memoir. And a beautiful book.