A tiny beauty, shining blue in the dark green forest. I wanted to write this post to describe my fascination with this plant.
As a traveller, I have been on the move since 2007 — chasing flowers, teaching in many countries, working on projects around the world. Since then, the longest I have stayed in one place is five months: once in Edinburgh, once in China, and once at home. The rest of the time I have been jumping from one place to another. Now, in these surreal times, we find ourselves obliged to stay put — and I am making the most of it by observing nature over longer stretches of time than I ever have before. My home is in the heart of the wilderness, and this has given me the rare chance to watch the seasons turn: buds opening into flowers, browns softening into golden green.
This is also when I truly saw this plant for the first time — truly, and in abundance.
I have encountered Omphalodes cappadocica many times before, both near my home and on botanical adventures with Viranatura Tours across Turkey. It has always struck me as delicate and beautiful, with its extraordinary fluorescent blue — but somehow, surrounded by so many other showy species, it never fully captured my attention. This spring, as nearly every plant in this landscape seemed to burst into flower at once, the little blue flowers began appearing here and there. Then gradually they spread, until they covered the entire forest. I had never seen them in such abundance before. Imagine a dark green forest, layered with every shade of green imaginable, lit throughout by hundreds of tiny blue flowers shining with all their might. Something quite magical. My heart melted.
I set aside all my other work. As a botanical artist, I simply could not suppress the desire to paint this species. After some preliminary sketches, I completed a life-size painting. Matching the true colour of these fluorescent blue flowers in watercolour was enormously challenging — but trying was every bit as enjoyable.
And then I couldn't stop. I kept painting the same species, but this time at larger than life-size, which I rarely do. Perhaps it was my way of expressing what I felt about this blue gem of the forest — of conveying something of what I had seen.
I hope you enjoy looking at these paintings as much as I enjoyed making them. As a small gesture of appreciation to this remarkable plant, I have prepared a Little Blue Book for you to download and print. I thought it might make a sweet gift for those stuck at home and feeling a little disconnected from nature right now. You might print it as a booklet, or choose a page to print larger and frame for your wall — and if you do, please share it with me. I would love to see these blue flowers appearing in homes around the world.
Sending you flowers from my home, Çamlıhemşin, Turkey.
LITTLE BLUE BOOK — Download
The PDF is available to download via the link above for the next seven days only. Please do share it with loved ones before then — help spread the flowers.
If you are interested in the original watercolour paintings, please follow the links below for details, and do get in touch.
Life-size painting of Omphalodes cappadocica Larger-scale painting of Omphalodes cappadocica
With love, Işık
