Story behind the art of Tammy McEntee
26th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center
Embankment Broomsedge
Andropogon virginicus
Last year, one of our Tri-State Botanical Artists Circle members, Katy Lyness, asked if anyone in the group would be interested in helping her with a project: saving a piece of green space in Jersey City, New Jersey. As a lifelong Jersey girl, I was in before I even knew what the project entailed. Katy told us about an organization, The Embankment Coalition (embankment.org) that is working towards preserving a stone structure known as the Embankment. It was built for the Pennsylvania railroad company which used the Harsimus Branch and its embankment rail line to bring freight to the Hudson River. The railroad abandoned the area in the 1990s and since then nature has reclaimed it, creating a beautiful forest and meadow. The mission is to allow the public to be able to freely enjoy nature and for this green corridor to become a part of the East Coast Greenway. When completed, the Greenway is to be a walking and biking path connecting 15 states from Florida to Maine. What a fantastic goal. How could we not help?
Katy told us about an exhibition she was putting together in collaboration with some local Jersey City artists. We, as botanical artists, would depict the flora and fauna that naturally lives there. Our purpose was to help the public become aware of the beauty of this deserted area.
I chose broomsedge from a list of plants, trees, and animals living on the embankment. I had never given much thought to sedges before. After doing some research and growing some broomsedge myself, I was surprised and impressed. I was surprised that broomsedge is a perennial grass (Poaceae) rather than a sedge (Cyperaceae) as the name implies. It gets its common moniker from the dried sheaths historically being used to make brooms. Fun fact: in Australia, it’s called “whiskey” grass after having made its way there by being used as a packing material for bottles of American whiskey.
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Read more about this artist’s work: 24th Annual