Each week for the past 10 years, through sickness, vacation and childbirth, artist Aislinn Adams dutifully turned out illustrations for a gardening column in the Washington Post.

When she got word the gig was coming to an end this month, it was disappointing to say the least.

"The main reason it is ending is because of the migration of news coverage from traditional newspapers to the Internet," Adams said.

But it wasn't long before she realized she held the key to her own survival - a catalog of more than 500 illustrations with which she plans to launch her own line of greeting cards.

"The more I thought about it, the more I realized [the end of the column] was an opportunity to act on something I'd been thinking about for years," she said.

Adams' illustrations for the gardening column were created through stippling, a technique the employs the use of small dots to create patterns simulating varying degrees of solidity. It's a form that reproduces well in newsprint, but for Adams it became something else.

"It's was almost meditative. How often do any of us spend hours doing anything by hand?" she said.

Adams learned graphic design in her native Ireland and segued into illustration soon after graduating. She had a passion for the natural world from the start and created interpretive materials for Eire's National Parks and Monument Division before discovering a penchant for plants that led her to study horticulture at the Ireland National Botanic Garden. Internships were required to complete the program and one landed her at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. It was there that she met reporters for the Post and connected with the editor of the gardening section.

She's attempting to harness her love of nature, the garden illustrations, and famous and not-so-famous quotes in her first series of cards. Each card is to be blank inside.

"The quotes are usually where the art starts for me. Often quotes that inspire me to come up with the image," she said.

Other series highlight other styles. Her "purple series" features a wider range of vibrant subject matter done in Caran d'Ache pencils over a thin wash background.

"I must have a real manic side. Love building up layers of color," said Adams.

A series of cards highlighting strong Irish women - from queens to pirates - with a stylistic nod to Irish folk art is also on the drawing board.

"I've printed limited runs of cards to sell at the local craft fairs, but the past few weeks have meant a lot of learning about what it means to be an entrepreneur. I'm going at it full guns," Adams said.

Adams' greeting cards will soon be available online at www.aislinnadams.com/blog.