Charles Darwin was not a botanical artist, but he was the most creative botanist. His art is truly the Art of Discovery. During the twenty years before the publication of Origin of Species and the twenty years following it, he conducted the breeding experiments and garden observations that tested and supported his groundbreaking theory of “natural selection”.

Like all great gardens, Darwin’s was absolutely beautiful. This year, it’s been re-created at the New York Botanical Garden. Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure can be enjoyed there until June 15 and, during autumn, at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

The exhibition guide’s signature artwork is Redouté’s Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise Flower). While Darwin made careful dissections of flowers to reveal the details of pollination, Redouté gave us the most beautiful and comprehensively accurate paintings of these details. So we include our Perfect Recreation™ of Redouté’s original watercolor of the magnificent Bird of Paradise in this Collection, a dramatically beautiful flower painting with five anatomical details included in the composition.

Entering the re-creation of Darwin’s Garden, we’re struck by dozens of perfectly cultivated spikes of foxglove (digitalis) in purples, pinks, whites and yellows. We’re delighted to offer our Perfect Recreation™ of the earliest great image of The Foxglove, the c. 1570 original watercolor by Jacques LeMoyne de Morgues. Strolling a bit further down the garden path, we find ourselves surrounded by brilliant red poppies and deep blue cornflowers. So we include in this Collection LeMoyne’s The Corn Poppy and The Cornflower.

While standing under a toweringly impressive example of the real thing, we selected Redouté’s Banana tree to complete this Collection. It’s one of the most beautiful tropical botanical artworks ever produced and it includes six anatomical details in the lower portion of the image.