Foxgloves grow tall

31 May - 5 June: 3rd Microseason of Shōman (Lesser ripening)

Hello and thanks for reading this newsletter about marking microseasons in the pages of my sketchbook.

Here we are at the end of another microseason, and another sekki. When debating what to name these past few days, I was tempted by the winds that have blown in both brilliant sun and short-lived rain, but in the end I’ve chosen the foxgloves, which have sprouted tall in the grasses and raised beds.

‘Foxglove’ refers to their shape, which do sort of resemble glove fingers. However, its etymology is somewhat lost to history. They are most certainly related to one mythology or another - whether they are worn on fox’s paws to roam the forest floor in silence or they are a place where fairies hide away.*

*(In which case ‘Fox’ is a malapropism of ‘Folks’, and ‘Glove’ derives from the Anglo-Saxon gliew, or bell, rather than the French gantelée (little glove). The more recent latinisation of its scientific name comes from the latter, digitus, meaning finger).

The Foxglove, like the Bluebell, has all sorts of weird and wonderful nicknames: Rabbits Flowers, Fairy Petticoats, Duck’s Mouth, Throatwort, and Tod-tail to name a few.

At any rate, a unique characteristic of the foxglove is its ability to heal and hurt. While very poisonous, fox gloves have been used to treat heart conditions due to its production of cardiac glycosides.

Foxgloves, it turns out, are pretty cool.

---

Sketchbook Notes:

After experimenting with paper and Seawhite sketchbooks, I’ve returned to my favourite sketchbooks, Pith, with a brand new Oroblanco. I took about an hour for this, starting with a layer of ink, then layering in all sorts of materials - coloured pencils, pastels, paint, and Neocolour IIs.

Until next microseason,

Natalie

---

Want to know more about Foxgloves?

Check out this fantastic blog

Check out this article for a deep dive into etymology