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Although she had other strong interests, most of her work focused in some way on plants, especially in their conservation or promotion to gardeners.\u00a0 She was instrumental in establishing the Kisatchie National Forest and was effective at educating the public, especially children, on the value of forest ecosystems.\u00a0 She accomplished these goals in part as the first woman to work in the Forestry Division in Louisiana, an achievement that reflected her determination and considerable political savvy.<\/p>\n
She was also an adept botanical illustrator.\u00a0 According to her biographer, Fran Holman, in \u201cThe Gift of the Wild Things<\/a>,\u201d she could be fanatical.\u00a0 She insisted on painting from nature, and if the condition and lighting of her subjects were ideal, she would remain at her work, mindless of anything else.\u00a0 Holman writes, \u201cthe majority of Carrie\u2019s paintings were of flowers and shrubs and trees\u2026a skillful combination of correct botany and colored charm.\u201d\u00a0 Many examples of this skillful combination can be found in Dormon\u2019s 1934 book, \u201cWild Flowers of Louisiana<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Louisiana irises were a special interest.\u00a0 This complex of several species is native through much of the southeast United States but with the greatest concentration in their eponymic state\u2019s wetlands.\u00a0 Hybrids between the species have one of the widest range of colors of any iris group, but were essentially unknown in horticulture before the work of Dormon and few others.<\/p>\n She planted many at her garden in northern Louisiana and distributed them to friends elsewhere in an effort to understand their best growing conditions.\u00a0 She also introduced hybrids, winning six Mary Swords DeBaillon Awards<\/a> between 1948-1958, the top honor of that era from the Society for Louisiana Irises.<\/p>\n Reviewed by: Brian Thompson on December 2, 2024<\/p>\n Excerpted from the Winter 2025 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cNatives Preferred\u201d would be an appropriate title for many of the recent books advocating the use of native plants in our gardens.\u00a0 However, this book was from 60 years ago, near the end of the very productive and wide-ranging life of author and illustrator Caroline \u201cCarrie\u201d Dormon (1888-1971). While Dormon provides useful suggestions for native plantings across the United States, it is clear that she especially loves the plants of her native Louisiana.\u00a0 These include trees such as the Longleaf…<\/p>\n