Though Barbara Trauth hardly knows a perennial from an annual, her work will be featured at several events in this year's Cincinnati Flower Show.

        She has a green thumb all right, but unlike many show participants, hers comes from daubing in oil paints rather than dirt.

        The show has highlighted artists intermittently through the years, but Mrs. Trauth of Hyde Park is the first chosen to be displayed at several events.

Artist Barbara Trauth with her painting “Rose Garden” and sculpture “The Tear.” (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        “We have used artists' prints before, like Monet's, in conjunction with floral artists,” says Mary Margaret Rochford, director of shows and president of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society. “But this is the first time we have featured original art. They are all women. And they are all regional.”

        A painting and sculpture by Mrs. Trauth will be part of “Art in Bloom,” in which 20 artists, chosen by a jury, will be paired with a floral artist who will interpret their work. .

        “It's a stroke of genius to marry fine art and flowers,” says Mrs. Trauth, crediting Mrs. Rochford with the idea.

        Timing was a stroke of genius as well for Mrs. Trauth, whose sculpture, “Dance of Tears,” stands next to the library on Xavier University's campus.

        “I was going through a phase in January . . . where I wanted to do a painting a week,” she says.

        Finding subjects is no problem. “There is so much beauty around me,” she says. The river, especially, has a mystical quality. I love to paint it. There are so many beautiful views: Ault Park, Eden Park. It just takes my breath away, especially in the spring and the fall."

        The works Mrs. Trauth chose for the flower show illustrate her love of the city as well. There's a Riverfest scene with fireworks exploding on a black and white background, the steps at Ault Park cascading with flowers in vibrant blues, Hyde Park Square and a view of Mount Adams from Holy Cross-Immaculata Church.

        Art work featured in the flower show will be for sale. A portion of proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital Medical Center.

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