It is interesting to hear about how others interest in botanical illustration has evolved. I was also influenced by both my Scottish Granny, who insisted we learn the correct names of at least 10(?) flowers when we were on a walk with her, and my mother. The one flower I remember from my walks with my grandmother was Bladder Campion( now considered an invasive in some states?), which we liked to squeeze and 'pop' along with wild snap dragons. After that, as we all grew up, my mother went back to school to study botany and designed and grew a beautiful flower garden along with a vegetable garden. Both these women have inspired me and encouraged me to draw, and enjoy our natural world. years ago, I worked in the Yukon Territory of Canada as an outpost nurse, and remember drawing pasque flowers there...and now I am married to a forester who I walk with often and learn about many trees, and the woodlands. On a recent trip to St. John, US Virgin Islands, we bumped into the author of 'The American Woodland Garden' on one of our hikes, Rick Darke, and had a long visit and chat with him -that was interesting!