Gardenias

Fifteen years ago, we bought a house. It came with a big backyard -- somewhat of a rarity in middle class neighborhoods around here. But with five kids and a dog, the space was attractive, albeit high maintenance. About half of the yard is grassy. We call it the field, and sometimes, when life gets busy and the grass doesn't get cut as often as it should, it grows into what I call amber waves of grain. The other half of the property that sits closer to our house is filled with a variety of plants -- trees, shrubs, flowers, and of course, weeds. Some of the things that grew out back when we moved here were taken out and replaced by other plants. But there are three residents that still stand proudly along the path that leads to the field. The day we moved in, they were just green, leafy bushes. I didn't even know for sure what they were. That spring, lo and behold, flower buds appeared on the mystery shrubs. And when they opened up into blooms, they revealed their true identity. They were gardenias! What a lovely surprise! The creamy white blossoms adorn the bushes for months, their fragrance filling the air. Sometimes I cut a bouquet of them and put them in a vase to brighten up the house. They add a touch of elegance to our home while their perfume permeates the room. 

This week I picked one of the flowers and brought it in to paint. Just one bloom with a few green leaves lay on the table as I tentatively started to work. The white petals were a challenge to depict, since in watercolor painting, one does not use white paint. The artist must instead reserve the white of the paper in the appropriate places. So for my second weekly painting, I bring you Gardenia.