Iris tenax , “Tough-leaved Iris” or “Oregon Flag” makes a brief appearance in late spring. This roadside plant lasted long enough to do a drawing of the actual flower, create a color chart, and take photos.

    I transferred the drawing into the “sketchbook” and the final watercolor was completed after the bloom had wilted.

Impatiens capensis, “Jewelweed” is also known as “Touch-Me-Not” because the seed pod explodes if touched. The explosion scatters seeds widely, enabling the plant to dominate an area. It was fascinating to study under the microscope. Two types of flowers grow on the plant: The orange, sometimes spotted, flower that attracts pollinators; and a small, self-pollinating flower that grows later in the season as a last-ditch effort to propagate. See the sketchbook page above for the detailed dissection drawing.

The large leaf was difficult to render in watercolor because it threatened to buckle the paper and ruin the previous page of the Sisterhood Sketchbook. I used colored pencil to finish it, but didn’t really capture the yellow-green tones. The leaves of Jewelweed can be crushed and used to soothe poison ivy rashes.