Artist, Helen Hornberger, revived the techniques of French tole to create naturalistic representations of the state flowers. The artist used thin copper sheets as her base, and painted them with oil paint in the natural colors of the blossoms and leaves of the Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva). The light brown stem is leafless with two registers of slim sepals and is topped by a pale pink blossom. The petals are long and slender with pointed tips and encircle the white and yellow stamen.
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The Congress of Representative Women at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago proposed that each U.S. state and territory select a flower to represent their state in the “National Garland of Flowers.” This resulted in the National Floral Emblem Society. Each state has adopted to represent the state and its people based on their importance to the state’s history, economy, folklore, or native varieties. Tole artist Helen Hornberger created each artificial flower representing each state to create for a bouquet displaying America’s floral diversity.
MONTANA: The Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) was designated the official state flower of Montana in 1895. Their choice of an official flower was prompted “National Garland of Flowers” feature at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Montana chose the Bitterroot for the flower’s cultural and historical value to the state. Meriwether Lewis discovered Bitterroot on the expedition in 1805, giving the flower its genus name, “Lewisia.” Bitterroot was also significant to Montana’s Native American heritage. This perennial wildflower has a fleshy taproot from its branched base, which was eaten by the Native Americans. Bitterroot was dug up and dried for use in later months as food or for trade. It was a vital part of the Native tribes’ diets, though it is too bitter to eat unless cooked. In addition to being highly utilitarian, this flower was strikingly beautiful. The blooms, which range in color from white to deep pink, grow on leafless stems close to the ground with succulent, rubbery foliage. Bitterroot grows near the base of mountains and in the valleys of western Montana. It grows in gravel and heavy, dry soil and blooms each spring and summer. Bitterroot is a hardy plant that is also called the “Resurrection Flower” because of its ability to survive a year without water.
