A leaf that doubles as a dog’s ear, stems that make for insect legs and a twig that becomes a baby. Garden artists are using nature’s bounty to unleash their creativity.
Foraging for materials including petals, seeds and acorns, nature lovers – many of whom are gardening enthusiasts – from all over the globe create both portraits and abstract art. These are then photographed for posterity, while the original work is recycled or left for the wind to carry away. The overarching aim of so-called Earth art is to create something of ephemeral beauty, even if it’s transient.
“Nature is an infinite well of inspiration, so naturally I gravitate towards it,” says Canadian artist and photographer Raku Inoue, who makes colourful portraits using flowers, twigs, leaves, seeds and stems placed on white paper, which he then photographs.
His creations also include orangutans, llamas, colourful birds, fish and butterflies, and even dinosaurs. He uses freshly cut flowers to create portraits of insects, from delicate beetles to vibrant ladybirds, using stems to artfully form legs.
Given the nature of his work, Inoue’s palette shifts with the seasons as leaves and petals change colour. He also digitally manipulates the arrangements using different angles to make a montage.
Fellow garden artist Subhashini Chandramani, who lives in Bengaluru, India, uses discarded petals, leaves and seeds to make portraits of anything from the Hindu deity Krishna, complete with a flute, to Audrey Hepburn, flamenco dancers and birds, using poinsettia leaves. For Earth Day in April, Chandramani created a stunning world map using the petals of different flowers on a black backdrop.
“The materials I use originate primarily from my own garden. Even when I am out in parks, I am always on the lookout for unique leaves, flowers, seeds and even vegetables that can inspire my next piece of art,” says Chandramani. “The process of creating each piece is a dance with time and nature, and a little like assembling a puzzle. For example, I've transformed the leaf of Leea rubra into a Native American’s eyes, and a crepe jasmine leaf into a sky filled with birds.”
In Chicago, artist Vicki Rawlins and her daughter Brooke spend much of their time outdoors foraging for materials that Rawlins then uses in her whimsical art.
“I work with foliage that I forage from walks in my yard and neighbourhood and build detailed scenes and portraits with no glue or tape, just 100 per cent Mother Nature,” says Rawlins. “Sometimes I’ll buy flowers from a local shop if I can't find what I need in my own backyard.
"My pieces aren’t permanent. After I take photos of what I create, I put the foliage back outside in the compost pile for a new life,” adds Rawlins, whose Instagram feed is filled with landscapes and portraits, including one of Frida Kahlo with a head full of flowers.
“If I like what I’ve done I’ll turn the photos into fine art prints and greeting cards,” she says.
British painter and photographer Hannah Bullen-Ryner is garden artist who assembles works not on paper, but rather on woodland floors. She describes herself as “a land artist and woodland pixie in love with the natural world”, and makes portraits of hummingbirds and owls using wildflowers, berries, leaves, seeds, twigs and petals.
She arranges various elements, such as leaves to form the feathers of a bird, such that they resemble artistic brush strokes before she leaves them to be reclaimed by nature.
Ryner also creates images of white tigers and chimpanzees drawn using chalk and water, then filled with foraged materials. She sells prints of her creations on Etsy.
Bridget Beth Collins, from Seattle, has been creating floral art for 15 years. “It started when I was walking through my garden one day and saw a ‘goldfish’ in my orange poppies. I brought the poppy inside and painted a body on a piece of paper, then used the petals as fins. Since that day I have made different animals, landscapes and books with flowers,” says Collins.
Her love of nature has been fostered by backpacking trips and time spent in mountain meadows in the state of Washington. Her Instagram feed is filled with eclectic images of everything from gnomes and turtles to bicycles and even the Eiffel Tower made out of petals, leaves and seeds.
“I forage for wildflowers from meadows and parks, and also grow my own flowers or buy bouquets at the market to create my botanical art. Many of my friends give me flowers from their gardens knowing I will create with them,” says Collins, who sells prints of her work at Floraforager.com.
In Singapore, fashion illustrator Grace Ciao uses petals and leaves to create “bloom belles”.
These are illustrations of women in stylish dresses, with full skirts and glamorous gowns made with the petals of daisies, gerberas and roses. Sometimes Ciao will use a whole flower to form a garment.
Unlike many other garden artists, Ciao draws and paints an entire picture before adding petals or leaves as embellishments.
Also differing from the norm is London artist Chris Kenny, whose nature portraits use just one material: twigs.
Kenny makes everything from detailed dancing figures and babies to abstract portraits by joining together the twigs he forages.
“Twigs provide naturally rhythmic, characterful and unpredictable lines,” says Kenny. “They reveal connections between plant limbs and human limbs with an exuberance inherent to life.”
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
Take Me Apart
Kelela
(Warp)
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Company%20profile
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
Fixtures
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaldoon%20Bushnaq%20and%20Tariq%20Seksek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20100%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20to%20date%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2415%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EBattery%3A%2060kW%20lithium-ion%20phosphate%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20Up%20to%20201bhp%3Cbr%3E0%20to%20100kph%3A%207.3%20seconds%3Cbr%3ERange%3A%20418km%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh149%2C900%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
