— Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
A pair of black and white vintage botanical illustrations from 1900. These two flower drawings feature very old varieties of begonias. The first, Begonia 'Gloire de Lorraine' was first bred in 1891 in France. Since 1940, this hybrid has been classified as Begonia x сheimantha. You can read a short article of this flower in a December 1, 1900 issue of American Gardening here.
The second drawing is of the Begonia 'Gloire de Sceaux,' which is an even older variety that was first bred in 1883. It is described in various vintage catalogs as "One of the finest flowering Begonias introduced for many years..." and as "Perhaps one of the most valuable additions in later years..." The plant is supposed to be a prolific bloomer in winter months with soft silky pink flowerrs that contrast well with its dark, bronzy plum foliage that posseses a rich, metallic lustre.
You can download these botanical clipart as a free 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark for collage, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects here.
From my personal collection of ephemera. All digital scans by FieldandGarden.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please credit and link back to FieldandGarden.com as your source if you use or share this work.