Delaware Botanic Gardens inspires Gallery One artists exhibit

On display through Tuesday, Aug. 31, Gallery One’s current exhibit pays tribute to Delaware Botanic Gardens.

This little-known treasure located in Dagsboro has a mission to create a world-class, inspirational, educational public botanic garden in Southern Delaware for the benefit and enjoyment of all. Situated on 37 acres along Pepper Creek, which flows into the Indian River Bay, the site comprises gently rolling, verdant, sandy coastal plain, but also features a 12-acre hardwood forest and a wetland marsh with more than 1,000 feet of waterfront along the navigable tidal creek.

Visiting gives one a glimpse into almost every ecosystem in the beautiful and unique local area; it provided Gallery One artists with abundant inspiration.

“After spending a delightful morning at the Botanic Gardens, I came home with my brain saturated with colors and ideas,” said artist Eileen Olson. She began her piece as a demo and finished it in her backyard among the chirping of birds and garden breezes reminiscent of the outdoor experience at the gardens. “Bunny Tree” is resplendent in bright yellows and complementary blues and lavenders.

Artists Lesley McCaskill, Joyce Condry, Dale Sheldon and Laura Hickman took a more traditional, but no less exciting, approach to their visits.

McCaskill’s acrylic painting, “Yellow in the Fields,” focuses on the vibrant golds and blues nearby; while Condry’s painting, “The Pond,” celebrates the lush greens complementing saffron grasses. Hickman’s pastel, “Delaware Botanic Garden” celebrated her experience of the charming small pond, teeming with life and color. Sheldon’s acrylic “Garden Path,” leads the viewer through the lavender and yellow, along one of the garden’s many meandering paths to the welcome center with the woods beckoning beyond.

Michelle Marshall’s acrylic “Marsh in Morning” is an explosion of color over the bay, illuminating the vibrant blues and greens of the tidal marsh in all her glory.

Mary Bode Byrd’s acrylic mixed media “Botanical Garden Visitor,” delights in the abundant waterfowl in the gardens; while W. Scott Broadfoot’s oil painting, “Floor of the Woods,” presents a very up-close-and-personal experience of the many wildlife varieties in the gardens. Bluebirds, a full nest, snails, frogs and flowers beckon the viewer to explore the hidden world underfoot.

Delaware Botanic Garden is located at, 30220 Piney Neck Road, Dagsboro. To learn more, go to delawaregardens.org.

Always staffed by an artist, Gallery One is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day at 32 Atlantic Ave., Route 26, in Ocean View.

For more information, call 302-537-5055, email art@galleryonede.comor go to galleryonede.com.