On Libraries and Grass-Touching
The library has some hidden gems!
I've been spending my free time reading the Botany Handbook for Florida from the Florida Department of Agriculture. It's so cool!
It really helps me identify and sketch plants because it has such detailed drawings. All parts of plants are introduced in the beginning, and there's a little guide at the end that lets you identify a plant just by looking at it closely.
It's crazy how often I started spotting a whorl of leaves on a branch and noticing how they are spatulate, or spatula shaped! Those are my favorite kinds of leaves, they are so cute! The botanical terms used in that book are so funny, especially when you're unsure of how they're pronounced. I had to look “peduncle” up to see if it was as goofy as it looked (it was). Luckily, the book has pronunciations for most of the terms.
Anyway, reading that book inspired me to start a new journal dedicated to documenting the plants I find around campus, mostly from the arboretum. I like to press flowers and leaves, so I incorporated them into some of these spreads!
As you can see above, this sea grape leaf was from one of the trees by the Centennial dining hall. Sea grapes are SO versatile, they can be shrubs, act as hedges (like the ones by the Lowe Museum), or grow into giant trees (like the ones in the arboretum)! Their color palette is beautiful (as I mentioned in my journal)— I just can't get enough of the green-red-yellow combo. It's very tropical and soothing to the eyes.
Another interesting characteristic is that the plant produces a shiny wax that protects its leaves from salt. After a few weeks, the wax wears off to reveal a dull, dry surface. I'm currently pressing a sea grape leaf and it is still stubbornly green and waxy for the most part. The dry parts are a dark reddish-brown.
I've mostly focused on leaves so far because they have enough variations to be interesting, but not so many that they end up being overwhelming (...like flowers. I may need to read that section a few more times to understand all the categories).
Reading about things I love that aren't related to my studies have helped me feel like I'm actually living. I can finally go outside to the arboretum without feeling like I'm missing out on whatever I'm missing. I can finally create things for myself again without guilt. So thank you, library. Thank you, plants. Thank you for being so awesome!