The Country Diary of a New Momma
capturing nature in watercolor while my baby sleeps
Inspired by The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
by Edith Holden
Edith Holden's book, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady is my all time favorite book and it inspired me to become a botanical artist many year's ago. Currently I live with my little family on Vancouver Island. We live near vast beautiful forests, coastline and meadows. Through this project it was my goal to create seasonal watercolor paintings to show the changes in nature for each month of the year.
My Island Home
living close to nature on Vancouver Island
Living on Vancouver Island has profoundly inspired my journey as a botanical artist. The island's unique coastal eco-system, teeming with a variety of flora, offers an endless palette of colors and plants to study. The abundance of wildflowers, from the delicate pink fawn lilies to the rich chocolate lilies, captivated me and fueled my passion for capturing their intricate beauty on paper. Each walk through the island’s lush rainforests, marshes, beaches, and meadows has introduced me to new plant species, each with its own story and charm. The rich biodiversity and the ever-changing seasonal landscapes of Vancouver Island not only provided me with a constant source of inspiration but also deepened my appreciation for the natural world, compelling me to translate this beauty into my art.
My Materials
what I'm using to create my paintings
The materials I use are artist quality watercolor paints, kolinsky sable round brushes, and a 6 x 6 inch sketchbook by Speedball with Fluid 140lb cold pressed paper in it. I have modified this sketchbook to also include papers by Arches and Daler Rowney.
Month by Month
If you would like to explore more of my country diary after watching the full tour above, you can browse the month by month features below. Each section shares watercolor and ink studies inspired by the changing seasons of Vancouver Island, along with notes and reflections from my nature walks, marsh visits, woodland discoveries, and quiet moments spent observing the beauty of the natural world throughout the year.
January
Our winter here began unusually warm, with damp grey days that felt more like late autumn than the heart of January. By the second week of the month the colder weather finally arrived, bringing temperatures below 0°C along with snow and frosty mornings that transformed the landscape. Even in the quiet of winter there were still small pockets of beauty to discover on my nature walks. This month in my country diary I focused on dangling hazelnut catkins swaying in the cold breeze, clusters of snowberries lingering pale against bare branches, dark black huckleberries tucked among winter foliage, bright beauty berries adding unexpected colour to the season, glossy variegated ivy trailing through gardens, and delicate hellebores blooming bravely despite the cold. January felt peaceful and reflective, filled with muted winter tones, crisp air, and quiet moments spent observing the subtle beauty that can still be found even in the depths of winter.
January Page 2
Beautyberry, this illustration took the longest with all the tiny berries. The color almost makes them look fake, but you can see it is accurate to the reference photo shown below. The cold weather came the second week of January and the hellebore wilted from the cold (top right). My favorite illustration from January is the variegated ivy (bottom right).
January Notes
1. Clear and cold day, walked with family at Island View Beach in Victoria.
8. Baby boy turns 3 months old today. Very cold temps - 9 C.
15. Collected plants while on my walk today to create the January title page for my country diary.
16. Woke up to snow! More snow is forecasted, the forest looks so beautiful.
17. Snowed all day today, I took baby boy for his first walk in the snow, along the way I found some variegated ivy.
18. The rain came and made a mess of the snow. We stayed inside all day today.
24. Heavy rain all day again and forecasted for the next week - very gloomy out. I finished my beauty berry painting today for page 2. It is much warmer out now, if this continues we will have an early spring.
31. January was warm and very cold with lots of rain. I am yearning for spring to arrive. Winter with a tiny baby is challenging. We are staying here at the seaside resort until May 1st. I have been enjoying being back in Nanaimo and going to the marsh more often.
Below: Beautyberry, My baby boy out for his first snowy walk, hellebore wilted from the cold, black huckleberry, baby boy in his stroller, and hazelnut catkin.
February
February flew by, with the weather gradually beginning to warm even though many cold and rainy days still lingered. There was a quiet flicker of hope for spring in the air as the first flowers slowly began to emerge along pathways, gardens, and woodland edges. This month was also a busy and tiring season at home as baby Kai started teething, and my painting time became much more limited. I managed to complete many of these illustrations at my mom’s house while she kindly took him out for walks in his stroller, giving me a few precious hours of quiet to paint and focus. During my February nature walks I was drawn to clusters of crocuses pushing through the cold ground, fresh primroses and delicate snowdrops blooming in sheltered gardens, soft violet leaves carpeting damp areas, trailing ivy bright against winter landscapes, and the first willow catkins appearing along marsh edges as signs that spring was slowly on its way. I hope you enjoy these illustrations inspired by the small but beautiful discoveries I found during this gentle transition between winter and spring.
February Page 2
A simple cluster of crocuses found blooming in mid February, bringing one of the first hints of colour to the late winter garden. Though delicate in appearance, the overlapping petals and leaves created an interesting challenge while painting, requiring careful observation of shapes, shadows, and layers to capture the softness and depth of the flowers.
February Notes
5. So far February has been much dryer and sunnier than January.
7. Found some more variegated Ivy with a different leaf shape while out on my walk.
9. Snowdrops are up more, I found some with a more yellow green leaf color compared to the classic blue-grey leaf often seen. I thought they might be snowlfakes and not snowdrops. However once fully opened I looked at the flowers and they are snowdrops.
11. Primroses are startinf to come out aroudn the resort in all the little side gardens, mostyl light yellow and purple flowers.
14. Young leaves are coming out on the saskatoon berry bushes and a few flowers on the highest branches that catch the most sun.
17. I walked the woodland trail for the first time today with baby boy, as walking was the only way to get him to nap. I can imagine in a few more weeks how many lovely woodland flowers will be coming out. From the looks of the area there will likely be trilliums and calypso orchids.
24. February continues to be mild and warm and not too much rain. I am behind on painting this month as my sweet boy has decided to stop day time napping unless he is in motion in the car or the stroller. This month I hope to list the coommon and latin names of the plants that I have painted.
29. Today is a special day as it is a leap year, we usually do not have a 29th day in February. I am looking forward to spring and having many wildflowers to inspire me to paint.
Below: (my reference photos and baby boy) - Primrose, varigated Ivy, crocuses, snowdrop, Baby Boy in February, and the view from our home overlooking the sea.
March
March was a month of mixed emotions, filled with both the beauty of early spring and the sadness of losing my beloved cat Luna, who went missing during this season of change. As the days slowly grew longer, the landscape around Vancouver Island began to awaken with colour and new growth, offering small moments of comfort during difficult days. This month in my country diary I focused on trilliums emerging beneath the forest canopy, bright flowering currants glowing pink along roadsides, cheerful scilla and primroses blooming in gardens, soft violets and trailing periwinkle carpeting shady areas, delicate primula flowers, and the first salmonberry blossoms appearing along woodland edges. Plum trees burst into bloom with clouds of pale pink petals, reminding me how quickly spring arrives after winter. Many of my walks this month felt quiet and reflective as I wandered through forests, gardens, and marsh edges, sketching and painting the fragile beauty of the season while holding both grief and gratitude together. Though spring returned with all its beauty, this time of year will forever carry Luna’s name with a soft and tender sorrow.
April
April was a season of change and new beginnings as we moved out of our RV and into a nearby house, and it felt so wonderful to finally have more space again. As we settled into our new home, I spent many quiet moments exploring the wild meadows and woodland edges nearby, especially the beautiful Harewood Plains where spring wildflowers were beginning to emerge in abundance. This month in my country diary I focused on soft pink sweet violets, delicate blue and white violets scattered through the grass, herb robert carpeting shady areas, slender toothwort hidden along damp woodland trails, graceful wood anemones, and drifts of English bluebells glowing beneath the trees near old heritage homesteads. The meadows above our home were alive with both common and rare native species, and each walk felt full of discovery, inspiration, and the excitement of watching spring slowly unfold across the landscape.
May
May brought warm spring weather and many peaceful days spent outdoors with Kai, wandering woodland trails and visiting the marsh as the landscape burst into bloom. This month in my country diary I focused on the rich colours and delicate forms of chocolate lilies, broad fields of camas glowing blue in the meadows, soft pink sea blush along rocky slopes, bright seep monkey flowers growing in wet areas, and the hidden beauty of spotted coralroot tucked beneath the forest canopy. Each walk felt full of discovery as spring unfolded more fully across Vancouver Island, inspiring sketches, paintings, and observations of the native plants returning with the season.
June
June was such a beautiful month at the marsh, and I found myself walking there almost daily, watching the landscape unfold into early summer. This month in my country diary I focused on delicate bellflowers, bright buttercups scattered through the grasses, trailing herb robert with its vivid pink flowers, yellow pond lilies floating across still water, blackberry blossoms tangling along sunny edges, tall bullrushes swaying in the wetlands, and foxgloves rising like towers among the greenery. The marsh felt alive with colour and movement, from soft pink wild roses to golden blooms glowing in the warm light, and each walk brought new inspiration to sketch, paint, and record the changing beauty of the season.
July
July on Vancouver Island is filled with the heat and brightness of midsummer, when roadsides, marshes, and meadows burst into colour beneath long sunny days. This month in my country diary I focused on yellow flag iris glowing along wetland edges, roadside blooms of California poppy, everlasting pea, chicory, oxeye daisy, and purple vetch swaying in the dry summer grasses, along with airy Douglas spirea and tall bullrushes rising from marshes and ponds. The landscape feels vibrant and alive in July, with golden light, buzzing insects, and warm breezes carrying the scent of sun-dried grass and wildflowers, inspiring long walks and afternoons spent sketching and painting the richness of the summer season.
August
August on Vancouver Island feels lush and abundant, with ponds and gardens overflowing with life in the warmth of late summer. This month in my country diary I focused on floating lily pads drifting across still water, delicate bladderwort hidden among wetland edges, airy pink spirea blossoms glowing in the sunlight, heavy apple branches bending with fruit, and vibrant nasturtiums spilling through garden beds in shades of orange and gold. The season is rich with soft greens, warm reds, and golden light, and many quiet afternoons were spent wandering marshes and gardens, gathering inspiration to sketch and paint these fleeting moments of late summer beauty.
September
September on Vancouver Island carries the first true feeling of autumn, with cooler mornings, golden light, and berries ripening across the landscape. This month in my country diary I focused on rowan berries glowing bright against soft fading leaves, tangled blackberry brambles heavy with fruit, and the curling vines of honeysuckle winding through hedgerows and forest edges. The colours of September feel rich and earthy, deep reds, dusky purples, warm greens, and hints of amber beginning to appear in the changing foliage. Many afternoons were spent sketching and painting these seasonal treasures while noticing the subtle shift from summer abundance into the calm beauty of early autumn.
October
October on Vancouver Island is filled with the rich colours and textures of autumn as the landscape shifts into brilliant shades of gold, crimson, and rust. This month in my country diary I focused on glowing maple leaves scattered across forest paths, the vivid red stems of red osier dogwood brightening wetlands and roadside edges, and weathered oak leaves paired with fallen acorns beneath towering trees. Crisp mornings, drifting leaves, and soft autumn light make this season especially inspiring for sketching and painting, and many of my October pages are filled with warm earthy colours, and autumnal observations gathered during woodland walks.
November
November on Vancouver Island feels still, damp, and full of hidden woodland treasures as autumn slowly gives way to winter. This month in my country diary I focused on the rich green leaves and bright berries of arbutus trees, along with the fascinating world of fungi emerging from the forest floor after the rains returned. Wood blewits, amanitas, rosy russulas, amethyst deceivers, and many other mushrooms appeared among mossy logs and fallen leaves, bringing unexpected colour to the dark forest understory. The season felt rich with texture and earthy tones, deep greens, soft purples, warm browns, and flashes of scarlet and pink, inspiring many peaceful walks spent observing and recording the quiet beauty of late autumn.
December
December on Vancouver Island carries a soft beauty, with winter gardens and forest edges still offering touches of colour against the soft grey skies of the season. This month in my country diary I focused on bright crab apples hanging from bare branches, clusters of privet berries, and glowing red holly berries among glossy green leaves, delicate winter camellias blooming in shades of pink and white, and the warm maple-scented tones of candy cap mushrooms hidden among damp forest trails. The season feels peaceful and reflective, filled with deep greens, crimson berries, soft winter light, and quiet walks through rain-soaked gardens and woodlands in search of small seasonal treasures to sketch and paint.
Learn to Create your Own Nature Journal
with The Watercolor Garden
If you enjoyed the full country diary tour above, you will definitely enjoy the classes I offer inside The Watercolor Garden, my online school for botanical painting and nature journaling. If you would like to learn watercolor botanical painting using my simple and approachable 3-step method so you can create nature journal pages you truly feel proud of, you are in the right place.
Inside The Watercolor Garden you will find my Featured Native Plant series, Holiday Botanicals Bundle, 12 Months of Birth Flowers series, Watercolor Botanicals for Beginners, Botanical Color 101 and many more full-length classes and seasonal projects. Right now, for a limited time, I am also offering a special lifetime membership option with a one-time payment and access to all existing and future content, allowing you to learn slowly and creatively at your own pace, free from pressure.
