Heidi Shafranek began studying art in childhood and graduated with an M.A. in art history. For ten years she worked in museums including The Brandywine River Museum, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. After retiring from museum work, she continued a 25-year relationship with textiles and more seriously explored her love of color patterns through quilting. She also had the time and space to garden. Her curiosity about alternative healing practices stimulated her interest in the historical and contemporary medicinal uses of plants. Her evolving garden incorporates perennials, grasses, native plants and herbs.

Jane M. Parker has always been involved in artistic endeavors. From designing needlepoint and fabric, Jane began to create fine jewelry. Underlying all of this was a love of photography. Ms. Parker was always taking photos—of people, landscapes, and especially plants and flowers. She became keenly interested in botanical art in conjunction with educating people about the healing benefits of plants, but quickly saw that much more could be accomplished by photographing these plants. When Jane saw Heidi's garden blooming in the spring, it was natural for her to start taking pictures of all the incredible flowers at her disposal. What began as a photographic celebration of their individual gardens blossomed to include public, domestic, and natural gardens. The result was a stunning display of beauty and color artfully captured on film by these artists. Some of the spectacular photographs on view were Morning Glory, Dahlia, and Prickly Pear.

The Tyler Museum of Art wishes to thank Heidi Shafranek, Jane M. Parker, Ray and Nadine Grimes, Harold and Glade Krivoy, and an anonymous collector for their generous loans to these exhibitions. Tyler Museum of Art season exhibition sponsors were Dub and B.J. Riter, the Rogers Foundation, the Watson W. Wise Foundation, the Fair Foundation, and Tyler Junior College. Additional support was provided by the City of Tyler.