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plus Somerset Mall and 
various print magazines. The 
commercial photography 
arm of her multifaceted 
business became one of its 
biggest assets, an area she 
has now worked in for more 
than 30 years.
Yet working in the 
commercial photography 
sector meant Tennent was 
regularly traveling. She also 
photographed weddings 
and bar and bat mitzvahs, 
making her a household 
name in Metro Detroit’s 
Jewish community. At one 
point, though, Tennent 
found herself working seven 
days a week to photograph 
the events, balancing raising 
a family with her blossoming 
career.

PICKING BOTANICALS
Then, nine years ago, 
Tennent was diagnosed 
with breast cancer, which 
forced her to slow down 
and take time to heal. It was 
during her recovery that she 
rediscovered her love for 
botanical art and made it one 
of the core building blocks of 
her career.
“I realized being at home, 
how healing it was for me 
to be back in the garden,” 
Tennent recalls. “I really 
wanted to get back to my 
photography and my series 
that I created over the years 
on botanicals.”
She took walks, developed 
her own garden at home 
and traveled to different 
botanical gardens around 
the country. One botanical 
garden in Arizona featured 
glass designs in a garden, 

which made Tennent realize 
what she wanted to do with 
her work.
“It was absolutely 
amazing,” she recalls. “I 
wanted to get this type of 
work off the gallery walls 
and into the garden, where 
people can really appreciate 
it back in its natural setting.”
Tennent developed a 
marketing plan to showcase 
botanical artwork in gardens 
around the country. She 
partnered with botanists 
and different garden clubs to 
collect interesting botanical 
species that she could 
photograph in her studio. 
Yet, there was one challenge 
she had to solve.
“In order to print these 
pieces to be in a garden 
setting, I had to experiment 
with a lot of materials,” 
Tennent says. “I came to 
print them on aluminum 
so that they are weather-
resistant.” This method of 
printing, she explains, allows 
botanical art shows (like 
City Bloom: Birmingham) to 
operate during all seasons.
City Bloom: Birmingham 
is the continuation of a 
traveling botanical art 
installation that Tennent 
partners with different 
collectors and exhibits 
to create. She says its 
appearance in Metro Detroit 
was the perfect timing, as it 
gave people a chance to not 
only get out of the house 
and walk along the trail but 
also provided a COVID-
safe activity that was both 
inspirational and fun.
Created in partnership 
with the city of Birmingham 

Astrantia snow at City Bloom

Milkweed