Utah Blooms: The Local Artists and Wild Places Keeping Flower Culture Alive in Our State
Utah has a way of making you stop. Whether it's a hillside of Indian paintbrush catching the late afternoon light along a mountain trail, or a lush greenhouse tucked into the valley where the smell of soil and fresh petals makes the rest of the world feel very far away, this state has always had a quiet, persistent love affair with its native flora. And embedded in that love affair is a community of artists, naturalists, and growers who have spent years paying close attention, and translating what they see into work worth sharing.
At Wasatch Gift, we get to be collectors of that work. This is our way of introducing you to some of the people behind it.
Robert Hedges and the Wildflowers of Park City, Utah
Any conversation about Utah's wildflower culture has to start with the book that may be the most beautiful document of it. Robert Hedges spent years photographing and writing about the wildflowers that bloom across the Park City area, and the result is "Wildflowers of Park City, Utah," a rich, full-color field guide that feels less like a reference book and more like a love letter to the mountains. Each page captures the specificity of place that makes this region so distinctive, from the delicate white blooms of sego lily to the vivid magenta of a fireweed patch in full summer color. The book is autographed by the author, which makes it all the more meaningful as a gift for anyone who has ever pulled over on a mountain road just to get a better look at something blooming by the side.
Park City Gardens: Where Utah's Native Flora Gets Its Due
If you want to understand the botanical diversity of this region without lacing up your hiking boots, Park City Gardens is the place to go. Tucked along route 224, this extraordinary greenhouse is one of the most peaceful spots in Summit County, a place where you can lose an hour wandering through rows of native perennials, alpine specimens, and locally grown plants that actually thrive in Utah's high-altitude climate. The staff there care genuinely about matching the right plant to the right garden, and the space itself is the kind of lush, light-filled environment that makes a cup of coffee with a friend feel like a small occasion. Park City Gardens is also a gathering point for the creative community, hosting artists and events throughout the season that bring makers and plant lovers together in the same beautiful room.
Gisele Chastain: The Art of Everyday Beauty
Gisele Chastain is a Utah-based artist and illustrator whose work has a way of making you notice the things you might otherwise walk past. She describes herself as someone energized by new experiences and a deep love of people, and that warmth comes through in every piece she creates. Working in acrylic, gouache, pastel, watercolor, and ink, both traditionally and digitally, Gisele delights in the little details of everyday life and turns them into illustrations that feel genuinely joyful. Her floral note cards are the kind of stationery that makes a handwritten note feel like a real event, printed with blooms so lush and layered they could be botanical illustrations from another century. If you have not yet followed her work, her Instagram is a very pleasant place to spend a few minutes.
Anna Bugbee: Printmaker, Plant Person, Mountain Kid
Anna Bugbee is a printmaker based in Salt Lake City who draws her inspiration from the alpine geography and botanical wonders of the Intermountain West. Originally from Logan, she studied printmaking at the University of Oregon and NYU, worked at a fine art screenprinting studio in Brooklyn, and eventually found her way back to Utah, where she has been translating her love of plants into textile art ever since. She does all of the illustration, printing, and dyeing herself, and her work features local wildflowers, pollinators, and mountain scenes inspired by her adventures in the Wasatch and beyond. Before turning to full-time artmaking, she worked in the greenhouse at Red Butte Gardens and as a landscape designer, and that hands-in-the-soil background shows in the botanical precision of her prints. Her kitchen towels and coasters are functional art, the kind of thing that makes a kitchen feel curated without trying too hard.
Morgan McCue: Watercolor and the Spirit of Park City
Morgan McCue is an award-winning watercolor artist living in Park City with over 20 years of experience and a passion for pushing the boundaries of the aquarelle medium. Classically trained in both oil and watercolor, she has built a body of work that spans portraits, pet portraits, landscapes, architecture, and the specific, celebratory energy of Park City life. Her client list reads like a tour of the region's most beloved institutions, from the Waldorf Astoria Park City to Powder Restaurant to Park City Municipal, and her paintings have been exhibited across Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, and beyond. She has taken first place multiple times at the Plein Air Paint Out at Gallery MAR at Park City Gardens, which feels like a fitting detail given how beautifully her work and that space seem to belong together. Morgan also teaches workshops and summer camps.
Utah has never had a shortage of beauty. What it has is artists who know how to hold it still long enough for the rest of us to really see it, and we feel lucky to share their work with you.
From the Wasatch, with Love.
