Anna Laurent

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Articles & Photos

Before there was Instagram, there was the Claude glass—a small, tinted, convex mirror that was popular in the 18th century. Toted in artists' cases and tourists' pockets, the portable mirror offered a transformed view of the scenery that became popular with wealthy British vacationers—a world viewed through a Claude glass was a journey through ephemeral snapshots of softly-rendered nostalgia.

Botanic Notables: An Endemic Wildflower in Oregon

By Anna Laurent

A rare, endemic daisy-like wildflower was named after a local botanist in Oregon—now, a forest road could threaten one of its two habitats. Look for Veva's Erigeron on your next hike!

Art + Botany: Wave Hill's Wild Garden Exhibit

By Anna Laurent

Tending Toward the Untamed: Artists Respond to the Wild Garden is a collection of work that interprets the relationship between nature and the gardener as it grows at Wave Hill, a garden overlooking the Hudson River, in Bronx, New York. Our Q&A with Jennifer McGregor, Director of Arts and Senior Curator at Wave Hill.

Botanic Notables: The Roselily Collection

By Anna Laurent

Looking for a new blossom for your Easter vases? How about a lily with three times as many petals as traditional Liliums? Designed primarily for the cut flower market, Roselilies have some very unique attributes: an absence of pollen, a lighter fragrance, and a very long vase life. Check your local florist for two varieties ('Belonica' and 'Fabiola'); the others will be available later in 2012 and 2013.

Art + Botany: Rachel Pedder-Smith's Herbarium Specimen Painting

By Anna Laurent

Painted from specimens in Kew's Herbarium, Rachel Pedder-Smith's Herbarium Specimen Painting is an 18-foot masterpiece of botanic illustration, and a tapestry with hundreds of narratives that depict a history of plant evolution and scientific discovery.

Botanic Notables: The Shamrock

By Anna Laurent

Here's to a holiday filled with the luck of the Irish and the spirit of St Patrick; just remember, their leafy symbols don't look the same. We look at the stories behind the legend of St. Patrick's emblem, and the difference between a shamrock and a four-leaf clover.

Art + Botany: Plants in Peril

By Anna Laurent

A dual exhibition at Kew Botanical Gardens features Plants in Peril and Losing Paradise, showing illustrations of endangered plants through the world. The exhibition closes March 18, 2012, so go see it if you can!