The growth of foliage has a way of marking time. Its change, from the emergence of green leaves in spring to the disappearance of their vibrant colors in fall, dispels the illusion that time is standing still.
Eilean Donan Castle in the western Scottish Highlands
After a mid-May week away in Scotland, bare branches that seemed to remain in winter’s grip when we left Wausau were covered with tender green leaves upon our return.
This week, Woodson Art Museum galleries will transform, too. Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection is being carefully packed into shipping crates before the installation of botanical artwork featured in Abundant Future: Cultivating Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field, opening Saturday, June 11.
Because spring had arrived earlier in Scotland, our trip there seemed almost like time travel, accelerating the seasonal shift for my husband, me, and our four Wisconsin friends. The green and flowering Highlands granted us a preview of the growth and greenery in store at home.
© Jean Emmons, Eggplants, 2020, watercolor on vellum
Similarly, Abundant Future offers a bit of simulated time travel, fast forwarding through the growing season. While many dote for weeks on recently sown vegetable gardens, nurturing newly-sprouted seedlings, the galleries will be filled with depictions of the bountiful harvest ahead – lush melons, ripe tomatoes, glossy eggplants – from the exhibition’s opening day through August 28. No waiting, weeding, or watering required.
Be sure to seize the season. Visit the Woodson Art Museum soon and often, always admission free, before summer slips away in what often seems like the blink of an eye. Experience the botanical artwork, bringing friends and family to connect and make memories to be savored throughout many seasons to come.
© Sengmany Phommachakr, Radishes, 2020, watercolor on paper
Glencoe National Nature Reserve in the Scottish Highlands
Celebrating after a steep uphill hike on the Isle of Skye along Scotland’s west coast
