© 2025 Willa Downing

Willa Downing, Artist _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Horticultural Colour Chart

This installation was inspired by two volumes of “Horticultural Colour Chart” (British Colour Council, 1941). The need for standardized colour terms is part of the framework for accurate description of plant species i.e. plant taxonomy – naming and classifying as methods to understand. Using the contemporary standardized Pantone colour system, I recorded the colours of dozens of plant species (flowers and leaves) in May 2023 at Darts Hill Garden, Surrey BC. The colours were painted on plant labels similar to ones used for labeling plants at Darts, with scientific nomenclature for the species and RGB colour designations.

Exhibited in In Vivo, Darts Hill Garden, Surrey BC, 2023.