20. Diana Tapestry
The Fertile Burb
Anna Beall
2026 installation
Second Floor - Olmsted Gallery
The Inspiration
One of eight wool-and-silk tapestries in the Diana series, this panel depicts the a maid lacing the Greek goddess’ sandals in a rich wooded landscape. The tapestries were made in the atelier of Jacques Guebels and Jan Raes in Brussels (Flanders), ca. 1600
The Flowers
Recipe: Locally grown products including greenery, dried statice, tulips, hellebores, muscari, hyacinths
Florist’s inspiration: Before She Stood Still: imagines the landscape before the moment depicted in the Diana tapestry was fixed in woven form. Rather than replicating the scene, the arrangement reintroduces movement and seasonality at ground level, using early-spring materials to suggest growth that is still emerging and unsettled. The florals are intentionally restrained in scale so the tapestry remains dominant, allowing the living elements to feel like part of the same world — the forest floor beneath the figures, existing just before myth becomes a still image.
THE DESIGNER
Anna Beall
The Fertile Burb
Anna Beall is the farmer-florist behind The Fertile Burb, a flower farm and floral design studio specializing in seasonal, locally grown flowers. Her work begins in the field and is guided by what is genuinely blooming in the Mid-Atlantic, rather than imported product or trend-driven palettes. Designing exclusively with locally grown flowers, she creates floral work that reflects both the character of the region and the fleeting nature of a particular season. In her wedding and event work across Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland, Anna designs with the belief that flowers can tell a couple’s story in time and place, using what is blooming now to create work that feels personal, grounded, and true.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY
Aimee Custis Photography
Aimee Custis is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Washington DC. Her rich, luminous, and emotive style draws artistic inspiration from classical painters, street photography, and storytelling.
Her inclusive, client-centric approach to wedding photography is informed heavily by a background in hospitality, non-profit event planning, and college summers as a camp counselor. Aimee's wedding work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Washingtonian Weddings. Outside of weddings, her client list includes non-profits, hotels, and elected officials. Aimee is also the web designer behind the Art in Bloom website.
Aimee (she/they) lives in Washington DC’s U Street corridor with her husband Greg and golden retriever Whiskey.
