Artist’s Statement: 

This flowering maple lives with me in my kitchen garden window. Also known as a parlor maple, it is an abutilon, and not actually a maple. Flowering maples were popular during the Victorian era, later fell out of favor in the world of gardening, but have recently returned. I love the delicate, partly transparent flowers, especially set against the winter’s snow in the distance.

To see more photography by Dr. Vertel, check out the 2019 volume of Synapses.