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White Oak by P. Bessa, 1857
Botanical illustration took a tremendous stride during the centuries of discovery when European travelers were mesmerized by exotic plants they found in foreign lands. Since bringing the plants was not always an option, many talented illustrators brought back pictures instead. It was during this time that the articulate, precise and often beautiful illustrations gained prestige. Adventure combined with beauty must have been a worthwhile endeavor.
Exotica has always been admired from afar, either through paintings and other records, or through travel to its source. But, as travelers found ways to bring back these plants across continents to their own homelands, they had to be careful that their native plants would not be over-run by these foreign specimens.
Tree expert Todd Irvine, from Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF), was explaining the dangers of exotic plants to native plant growth during his lecture on trees at a recent Botanical Artists of Canada annual meeting.
The Norway spruce, brought here from northern Europe, is one example of a tree which is easy to cultivate and which grows at an incredibly fast rate, displacing other plants and trees in record time. Garden stores sell it without any qualms whatsoever, despite knowing the dangers, and, I believe, guided by money. It is taking over the more lethargic and slow-growing oaks, maples and beeches and is on the invasive plants watch list for Canada.
There is a morality tale here.
Just as some plants can completely change the make-up of the surrounding vegetations, so can some groups of people change, possibly irreparably, the fabric of society.
Toronto, sanctioned by its leaders, is doing the same thing. The exotica has now a full-blown entry into ordinary society, unprecedented in previous centuries, where even one wayward entrance would cause consternation and worry.
Hindu temples and mosques are trudging in at spectacular speed and replacing Protestant and Catholic churches. And whole suburban regions are replacing the original settlers with Chinese and Indian populations.
So, in this atmosphere, who will keep up the prized tradition of botanical art, which ironically flourished because those exotica were kept in their own lands? Like LEAF's gargantuan project, botanical art in Canada is becoming local, with many exhibitions stressing "native plants." I wonder if our Toronto representatives will do the same for our population, while finding ways to get rid of the encroaching usurpers?