Edibles… I grow crops for the kitchen in pots, amongst the flowers and in improvised planters.
Drawing them shows me that they’re every bit as beautiful as the plants I grow for decoration or for their scent.
Pea green turns out to be pea greens, a palette of hues from outer pod to inner, pea to stalk. There’s a glorious variety of size and shape, assorted huddles of peas in each pod.
The courgette flowers open with the sun and twirl closed for the evening, showing off their elaborate, pin tucked, gathered structures of green line and green-to-yellow petal.
The fennel, making an enthusiastic comeback this season, brings a sprinkling of tiny yellow flowers, each a miniature world of texture and colour. And they aren’t just for me. Wandering out with my early morning coffee, I’m joined by an obliging hoverfly, working its way around as I draw.
It’s beauty with utility – waving to the pollinators, setting seeds and of course, inviting me to harvest.
Biro, watercolour, fineliner, on waste paper.
Read my article about Dispatches from a Small World in Sublime magazine.
My April illustration of the whole garden is on show at Town House Open, Spitalfields, London, from 10 July until 12 September.