wild flowers Archives - Lizzie Harper

Water violet Step by Step

Posted on 25th October 2024 in Botanical Illustration step by step

Water violet step by step explains the stages involved in illustrating the aquatic plant Water-violet Hottonia palustris. It’s one in a whole series of about 50 step by step blogs, many accompanied by films on my Youtube channel. Water-violet Hottonia palustris The Water-violet is a native UK aquatic plant, also known as Featherfoil. It features […] Read more

Wildflower families: Ranunculaceae, the Buttercups

Posted on 20th September 2024 in Wildflower families

Wildflower families: Ranunculaceae, the Buttercups is the first of a series of blogs I’m doing based on the online course offered by Field Studies Council. Although I’ve picked up a fair bit of botany over the years, I’m interested in building on my observations, and learning to look for similarities between plants who are in […] Read more

Trees: Horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum

Posted on 27th July 2024 in Trees

Trees: Horse chestnut is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees. You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Hawthorn, the Lime, Scots pine, and the Beech. The Horse chestnut is easily recognized, with distinctive palmate leaves […] Read more

leaf, leaves, leaf shape, compound leaves, simple leaves, botany, botany terms,

Trees: Small-leaved lime or Linden

Posted on 17th November 202317th November 2023 in Trees

Small-leaved lime Tilia cordata and other Lime or Linden trees This is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees. You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Hawthorn, the Birch and the Beech. There are 10 […] Read more

Great Burnet Step by Step

Posted on 25th August 2023 in Botanical Illustration step by step

Recently, I’ve illustrated the Great Burnet, Sanguisorba officinalis for an interpretation board, to be cited on Jubilee Pasture, in Bugthorpe, Yorkshire. This blog is a step by step explanation of the process. For step by steps of other botanical subjects, please click here, and visit my Youtube channel for real-time films of me illustrating plants […] Read more

Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus natural history illustration by Lizzie Harper

Common Grass species identification: Some easy shortcuts

Posted on 14th July 202322nd September 2023 in Botany: Telling species apart

As you may have noticed, I’m rather obsessed with grasses, and have blogged on them often. From an introduction, to learning about them, to celebrating their beauty , discussing the ecological significance of Maram grass (guest blog), and more recently, to telling them from Rushes and sedges And, of course, I do botanical illustrations of […] Read more

Wildflowers of Braunton Burrows

Posted on 15th June 202311th August 2023 in Current projects and news

A recent commission involved illustrating 30 species for Braunton Burrows, a very beautiful sand dune system in North Devon’s AONB. The main challenges were the timing of the job, during winter when none of the flowers were in bloom, and their unfamiliarity to me. However, I really enjoyed illustrating such a pretty and diverse selection […] Read more

Orchid Botanical Illustration Step by step

Posted on 5th May 202315th June 2023 in Botanical Illustration step by step, Current projects and news

Orchids have always been a bit of a mystery to me, so when I was confronted by the Early Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp coccinea my heart did not leap. It’s one of 13 plants I’m illustrating for a wildflower identification guide to the Braunton Burrows sand dunes system which will be published by FSC Publications. […] Read more

Illustrating the Cannock Chase Berry Vaccinium intermedium

Posted on 8th April 2023 in Botany: Telling species apart

Cannock Chase Berry Vaccinium x intermedium is a really tricky subject to illustrate, because it’s not not only really rare, but also a hybrid. However, it needed illustrating for an identification chart being produced by FSC and Cannock Chase. Cannock chase berry: Parent species Hybrids are, according to Collins dictionary, “A hybrid is an animal or […] Read more

Trees: Birch

Posted on 20th January 2023 in Trees

Birch trees: The Silver and the Downy Birch There are two main Birch trees in the UK, the Silver birch Betula pendula and the Downy birch Betula pubescens. The Downy birch tends to grow better in wetter areas and in the north. The Silver birch likes drier soils and is often found growing ornamentally […] Read more

Trees: Beech

Posted on 21st October 20229th December 2022 in Trees

Introduction Beech trees are common across Britain, favouring chalky soils. The oldest Beech trees live up to 400 years. You’ll find them in open spaces and in woodland and can tell them straight away by their smooth bark. The trees produce beech mast which is nutritious for animals, and the canopy supports wildlife. Beech wood […] Read more

Flowers of Montserrat: Botanical illustration

Posted on 7th October 2022 in Current projects and news

Montserrat is an island in the Carribbean, part of the Leeward isles and the Lesser Antilles chain. So when I was asked to illustrate some of the flowers that grow there I wished fervently that the client would send me out to do research on the ground. Alas, it was not to be. Realistically, there […] Read more

Illustrating Yellow flowers: Five approaches

Posted on 9th September 2022 in Illustration techniques

Botanical illustrations of yellow flowers can be really challenging. As you try to add depth to the darker areas of the flower, you run the risk of making the petals look green, or orange. Here are a few techniques to try which should help mitigate this. Yellow Flowers 1: Pen and ink An easy way […] Read more

Sedges, Grasses and Rushes: Telling the families apart

Posted on 1st July 2022 in Botany: Telling species apart

I recently went on another excellent FSC course, this time on identifying grasses (other grass courses by FSC available here). One of the first things to do is to figure out what makes a grass a grass, and not some other plant. In most cases, it’s sedges and rushes that can lead to confusion, so […] Read more

Hay Festival Mug Design

Posted on 3rd June 2022 in Current projects and news

Hay Festival approached me early in the year, to see if I could come up with a design for the Hay Festival 2022 commemorative mug. I knew it was a big ask – a landscape full of local flowers and animals with Hay bluff behind, and plenty of references to the festival. I also knew […] Read more

Botanical illustration from the Brecknockshire Flora

Trees: Yew

Posted on 11th May 202220th May 2022 in Trees

Trees: Yew is another blog inspired by my illustrations for The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins. The book has inspired me to think about some of my favourite trees. The Yew tree Taxus baccata is the seventh in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, Rowan, Elder and the Oak. The Yew […] Read more

Geraniums, Crane’s-bills and Stork’s-bills

Posted on 6th May 2022 in Botany: Telling species apart

Geraniums, Crane’s-bills and Stork’s-bills is a guest blog from the wonderful Stewart Roberts, a local naturalist who shares his knowledge of nature and Welsh folklore on his wonderful Facebook page, where his illustrates his posts with his excellent wildlife photos. Potted Geranium from the garden centre The Geranium family Hardy Geraniums and the half-hardy pot plants Pelargoniums […] Read more

The Hidden Universe: Pen and Ink Illustrations

Posted on 22nd April 2022 in Current projects and news

The Hidden Universe by Alexandre Antonelli is a short and powerful book. I was asked to provide pen and ink illustrations, and had the absolute luxury of reading the whole book before lifting a pencil. This may not sound unusual to you, but in all the years I’ve been illustrating books, it’s only the fourth […] Read more

Trees: Elder

Posted on 18th March 2022 in Trees

Trees: Elder is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins. The book has inspired me to think about some of my favourite trees. The Elder Sambucus nigra is the sixth in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, Rowan and the Oak. The Elder Sambucus nigra […] Read more

The Treeline – Book Illustrations

Posted on 4th February 20224th February 2022 in Current projects and news, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

The Treeline: The last forest and the future of life on earth by Ben Rawlence is an exploration of the arboreal forests than encircle the globe. These are already being massively altered and changed by the climate emergency. It has just been published, in January 2022. I was lucky enough to be asked to do […] Read more

Heath Star Moss Sketchbook study

Posted on 7th January 2022 in botanical terms, Current projects and news

Heath star moss is one of three invasive species I’ve just illustrated for FOR in Sweden. In this case, the moss is an unwelcome invasive in Iceland, where it outcompetes other mosses and affects the delicate balance of existing ecosystems. Sketchbook pages FOR have commissioned several sets of invasive species over the years, and favour […] Read more

Habit sketch of Cow parsley: step by step

Posted on 26th November 202126th November 2021 in Botanical Illustration step by step

Habit sketches are an important aspect of doing botanical illustrations. They need to show an entire plant, and suggest how it grows within its environment. This one of the Cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvatica, was recently done for FOR in Sweden. It accompanied a large sheet of sketches of the same plant. To learn more about […] Read more

Cow Parsley: All about an Umbellifer

Posted on 12th November 20211st July 2024 in Botany: Telling species apart, Current projects and news

Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris was on the list of plants I recently illustrated for FOR Sweden. These plants are invasive in Scandinavia, and particularly troublesome in Iceland. Sketchbook studies All the botanical illustrations I do for FOR are in a sketchbook format. I love working this way; it gives me the opportunity to include tons […] Read more

Blueberry: step by step Pen and Ink illustration

Posted on 15th October 2021 in Botanical Illustration step by step

I recently completed a blueberry illustration for a packaging job, and thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to give a quick explanation of how I illustrate shiny dark fruit in pen and ink. Drawing blueberries Coming up with the initial drawing was tricky. it had to fit the layout of the product’s box, and the […] Read more