Bringing the Botanical Beauty Home: Color and Texture from a Day Trip
I'm in the process of building new design collections for my portfolio. To get started on the planning, I decided I needed some fresh inspiration, so a few weeks ago I played tourist in my own city and took a trip to the local Botanical Gardens. What an adventure! The gardens are absolutely breathtaking in the early fall.
I arrived just as they opened on a quiet Friday morning to avoid the crowds. The sun was bright and the air, still a bit warm, carried the crisp scent of late September.
The Unexpected Palette of Shade
The initial stretch of the trail was a welcome relief, covered completely in shade. It was here that I discovered an unexpected bounty of color. I had no idea there were so many vibrant, shade-loving plants!
Several garden beds were overflowing with variations of the beautiful Coleus plant. Their leaves showcased rich, velvety burgundy fading into a bright, acidic lime green at the edges—a stunning color clash that somehow feels perfectly grounded and balanced.
This specific contrast between the deep and vivid color is exactly the kind of inspiration I’m excited to translate into home decor. I immediately pictured these designs becoming a luxurious bedspread, bold wallpaper, or a trailing curtain pattern.
A Symphony of Shape and Texture
As the path opened up, the air became thick with the buzz of pollinators in the butterfly garden. Everywhere I looked, I found incredible texture, shape, and vibrant color that begged to be immortalized on canvas or fabric.
One plant, the Red Roselle, with its glossy, deep crimson pods, instantly reminded me of a classic, trailing wallpaper motif—organic yet tailored.
Further along, the delicate, wispy white threads of the Cat’s Whiskers (pictured on the left, below) contrasted beautifully with the tight, jewel-toned globes of the Globe Amaranth (pictured right, below). Imagine a playful serpentine pattern mixing these two textures for a lively powder room wallpaper.
The Grand Finale: Finding Serenity
The most surprising discovery of all had to be the stunning waterfall tucked away right in the middle of the city. Seeing the rushing, silvery white water cascade over the mossy, dark rocks was absolutely breathtaking. It provided a moment of calm and serenity, a quiet anchor to all the vibrant life I’d just experienced. This contrast between the bold energy of the flowers and the quiet power of the water is the core feeling I want to capture in my newest art.
What Will You Bring Home?
The best part of a day like this isn't just the memory—it's the fuel for creating a truly curated home. I've left the gardens with 250 pictures and an entirely new vision for color palettes and artistic textures that I know will resonate with your desire for timeless, inspired decor.
Keep reading this blog! In the next article, I'm peeling back the curtain to show you the botanical pattern directly inspired by this trip and how I'm developing it for print.
