Gillian Harris. 

An Artist’s Reflections: 
Indiana Dunes 

Natural 
Area 
Profile 
The “Two Lobelias” 
and their pollinators. 
By Gillian Harris 
Several years ago, as Artist-in-Residence 
at what was then Indiana Dunes National 
Lakeshore, | wandered the Lake Michigan 
shoreline with my camera, exploring beaches, 
dunes, swales, prairies, fens, bogs, marshes, 
and black oak savannas. My aim was to 
make digital and mental images of the unique 
habitats that comprise the Dunes, inspiration 
for botanical paintings. Choosing a topic for 
the artwork | committed to give in exchange 

for the Dunes experience proved difficult, with 
an overwhelming amount of material. | walked 
every trail in the park during my two-week 
residency, sharing hikes with my husband 
and friends, but mostly going it alone. 
The Great Marsh became especially 
familiar; | haunted it almost daily as it was 
near my lodgings. | watched the progression 
of summer into autumn throughout my 
September stay. Migrating monarchs (Danaus 
plexippus) sipped nectar on sunflowers, bees 
(Anthophila) worked the large swathes of 
18 + Indiana Native Plant Society - Summer 2021 
asters (Doellingera and Symphyotrichum) and 
white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), golden 
orb weavers (Nephila) hung on massive 
webs, scarlet and blue-black fruits abounded, 
and caterpillars ruled (e.g., fawn sphinx 
— Sphinx kalmiae, turbulent phosphila — 
Phosphila turbulenta, and asteroid — Cucullia 
asteroides). 
On the Cowles Bog Trail winterberry fruits 
(/lex verticillata), mushrooms, and huge 
Osmunda ferns along the wooded path gave 
way to dunes and the dazzling aqua marine 
of Lake Michigan on a clear day. Migrating 
monarchs flitted along the lakeshore, up and 
over the dunes to the prairies and savannas 
where showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), 
one of their favorite waystations, flourished. 
| found the black oak savannas of Tolleston 
Dunes and Miller Woods enchanting—the 
savanna is a vanishingly rare ecosystem 
that is distinct from the mixed mesophytic 
hills and hollows of my home in southern 
Indiana. It was a delightful habitat to 
explore, even long after the bloom time of 
the famous lupines (Lupinus perennis). | 
joined a ranger-led walk at Miller Woods on 
the first day of my residency, and happened 
to meet Nathanael Pilla, co-author with 
Scott Namestnik of the forthcoming guide to 
Wildflowers of the Indiana Dunes National 
Park. The trail, winding through savanna 
and wetlands to emerge in the dune-and- 
swale landscape and then the lakeshore, 
was replete with asters, goldenrod, purple 
gerardia (Agalinis purpurea), rough blazing 
star (Liatris aspera), and the jewel tones 
of bottle and fringed gentians (Gentiana 
andrewsii and Gentianopsis crinita), and 
great blue and Kalm’s lobelia (Lobelia 
siphilitica and L. kalmii). 
| was especially drawn to the lobelias, 
which grew in proximity to one another along 
a swale edge. The juxtaposition of the two 
species intrigued me—same genus, similar 
flower structure, yet so different in size, 
hue, and form. Probably due to a broken 
stem that had regenerated, one great blue 
lobelia had produced a stunning profusion 
of intense blue-violet flowers. A responsible 
botanical artist is restricted to portraying the 
Reflections — continued at right 
