Feast: Oyster Shell Color Swatch
6" x 8"
Signed, shadowbox framed, oyster color swatch & shell

+ Signed, new, hardcover book of Color In & Out of The Garden
(2022, Abrams)

+ Seeing Color in the Garden 2026 desk calendar

“I believe that gardening matters. I live a garden-based life in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in an old house near the beach in West Seattle, (USDA 8). This tiny plot is my living workshop and testing ground where I pursue seasonal pleasures, delicious flavors, and creative experimentation.”

                                                                                        ~Lorene Edwards Forkner

Lorene Edwards Forkner is a Seattle-based artist, gardener, cook, writer, teacher, parent, friend & mentor. And her work is inspiring and energizing. 

While we could have selected so many floral color studies she is known for, it is her durable objects: rocks, shells, seeds, that speak to me deeply of her place. To have this piece be an homage to the ethereal, the cleansing, the nourishing, and the iridescent, known along coastal watersways around the globe - all the better! Another universal language that ties directly to the health of our gardens.

“Like many of us with dirty nails and decidedly non-fashion-forward tan lines, my garden journey has been circuitous. In the mid-90s, my passionate love of plants led to owning and operating a small specialty nursery. There I discovered a community of like-minded souls for whom every flower, bulb, grass, and twig was a constant source of wonder and possibility. 

I also spent several years working in garden design, helping others, like me, who needed to organize their growing collections into pleasing spaces. 

These days, my work has more to do with tending gardeners—encouraging collaboration with natural systems and respect for the precious wildness all around us.

More than just a seasonal past-time, our gardens provide a creative outlet, personal respite, a connection with nature, and foster more livable communities.”


Follow along with Lorene online:
https://ahandmadegarden.com/about
and on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/seeing_color_in_the_garden/