Bellevue Botanical Garden

6/17/21 volunteer gardeners

After last Sunday’s drizzly start to the return of USk Seattle, today’s outing at Bellevue Botanical Garden felt like a well-deserved treat. With temps in the low 70s and sunshine all day, it was ideal sketching weather! It was also great to see Victoria again, who was visiting Seattle after moving away from the area months ago.

Dazzled and overwhelmed by the layers and layers of green everywhere, I decided to warm up with a few gesture sketches of some volunteer gardeners who work hard maintaining the beautiful plants and grounds. The sketches are not too flattering, but their poses made me appreciate their back-breaking work all the more.

I took my time strolling up and down the many gently sloping paths through the shady gardens. Newly liberated in my post-vaccine life, I still marvel at the joy of wandering around maskless and not having to think about being too close to others. Finally one of several moss-covered stumps caught my eye long enough for a sketch.

Yao Garden

With less than an hour left before the throwdown, I wandered into the Yao Japanese Garden. Enough of leisurely lazing; it was time to tackle the jungle of greens. A few Japanese maples in the distance reflected the noon sun, and I heard Kathleen Moore’s mantra in my head: “If you can’t see it when you squint, don’t draw it!” Yes, ma’am – nothing but values of greens here!

Summer doesn’t officially begin for a few more days, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s here – and it’s as good as outdoor-sketching weather gets. Bring it on!