Following visits to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and Benmore Botanic Garden, collaborating botanical artist Nicola Macartney has started work on some painted sketches of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) including foliage, cones and a small section of bark. These are the elements which she intends to include in the final painting.

John Jeffrey, the protagonist in GREEN GOLD, discovered the species on 24th April 1852. When his sponsors back in Edinburgh received samples from the tree, botanists named it Abies taxifolia. Today, the genus Abies refers to trees classified as firs rather than hemlocks.

More about my collaboration with Nicola Macartney
Nicola Macartney and I are working together with the aim of holding an exhibition at RBGE during 2018 to celebrate the life of botanical collector John Jeffrey. 
www.nicolamacartney.com

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