Sandra Morris drawing Safari Sunset Leucadendrons at the Bell garden on Bastia Hill. Photo / Supplied
Sandra Morris drawing Safari Sunset Leucadendrons at the Bell garden on Bastia Hill. Photo / Supplied
An art exhibition will pay tribute to the rich heritage of a Whanganui garden.
Sandra Morris is an artist and a founding member of Blooms on Bastia, a group which recently tried to purchase an historic Whanganui garden.
The Bell garden on Bastia Hill was home to world-renowned plant breederJean Stevens, followed by her daughter Jocelyn Bell and Jocelyn's husband Ian Bell.
After winning the tender to purchase the Bell property, Blooms on Bastia was unsuccessful in raising enough funds to buy it, which they had aimed to do in order to retain the Bell garden's heritage and to turn it into a community space.
"Sometimes in life, things don't go the way you planned, so you've got to use what you've got," Morris said.
"So this exhibition is an effort to put out there how wonderful this garden is and was."
Morris has put together the show, which will include 50 of her drawings and eight paintings.
Among them is a painting of the famous Safari Sunset Leucadendron, a cultivar first bred by Ian Bell which now sells up to 40 million stems on the international cut flower market each year.
The artworks for sale were made during Morris' many visits to the garden.
Watercolour by Sandra Morris of Safari Sunset Leucadendrons. Photo / Supplied
Also on display will be seven paintings of the gardens by Whanganui artist Carol Teutscher - the niece of the Bell family's gardener, who worked on the property.
Documentarian Robin Kewell's film about the gardens will play at the exhibition.
Morris said she believed it to be the only film ever made of the historic garden.
"To bring the film and artworks together in an exhibition would be a great way to celebrate and pay tribute to the garden."
Morris first visited the garden, with Blooms on Bastia founding member Colin Ogle, to watch Te Papa staff collecting plant specimens for their herbarium.
"I then sought permission from the family to draw there and they said it was fine," she said.
Since October last year Morris has made 26 visits, drawing every day she went. Each of the drawings is numbered according to each day's visit.
"It was so peaceful to be in the garden. We live such busy lives, so to be able to find somewhere like that so close to the city with all the native birds and nature has been amazing," she said.
All funds from sales of the artwork will go to the Blooms on Bastia group, after paying off the expenses of the exhibition - mostly framing costs.
