The conservation treatment of Severin Roesen’s Still Life, from the collection of Conner Prairie, is one of those very rewarding projects. The exquisite details of the painting were obscured beneath several layers of dirt, dust, soot, and heavily discolored natural resin varnish. The vibrant original colors appeared dull, dark, and hazy. The painting was a shadow of what it once had been, but those original colors and details were still there, just deeply buried. Removing all of those layers to once again reveal the beautiful colors of Roesen’s Still Life was not only rewarding to me as a conservator working behind the scenes, but it’s also rewarding to the visitor who now gets to enjoy the painting and all of its details and subtle colors.

Here is the painting in all its glory in the IMA’s Early American galleries. So what went on behind the scenes to get it here? About 85 hours of careful conservation work.

The painting installed in the IMA’s Early American Galleries.

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Filed under: Art, Conservation

Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any hotter in the garden…….. it does. Naked ladies magically appear all over the place.

Sometimes in the hostas.

Sometimes in the ferns.

Sometimes just right out of the ground.

Cover the children’s eyes. Give Grandpa another nitro-glycerin tablet. Warn the religious right. No, wait. Tell them Resurrection lilies are all over the garden. They won’t know the difference. It’s August and time for the Naked Ladies to put on a show! Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Horticulture

There are many white things in this world.

White flowers.

White lightning.

White weddings.

White sport coats (with pink carnations of course).

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Filed under: Horticulture

Check out our latest Flickr set from this year’s Perennial Premiere:

Filed under: Horticulture, Local

Lawdy Mercy! Spring is coming on so fast and furious my head is spinning!

It’s almost too much yet it can never be too much. There’s stuff everywhere!I’ve been trying to photograph as much as possible and I can’t hardly keep up! Plus we have started planting over at 100 Acres while there’s still all the regular work to do. Let me just tell you it’s keeping me in a tizzy. And next week-end is the Perennial Premiere – Jumbo Size. Let’s face it. It’s the busy season.

But I refuse to ignore all the amazing and pretty plants putting on their big sex show this year. Yes, I said sex show. Those flowers you’re admiring ain’t for you. They are for the pollinators (more on National Pollinator Week later). But what the heck. Let’s be nasty voyeurs this week and take in the show.

If you have questions about any plants in particular, that’s why we have a comment section. I will try to find an answer for you.

I tried to find a video for the Forester Sisters’ “Too Much is Not Enough” but had no luck. So ……..

Filed under: Horticulture