Satsuko Hamilton was born in Nagoya, Japan, where she studied traditional flower arranging and the Tea Ceremony. As a young girl growing up in Japan, Satsuko was trained to paint designs on pottery in her parents' ceramic factory. Her ability for composition and technical application led her to begin painting on paper and canvas. Her explorations in the field of art continued when she married George Hamilton, now a well known artist and teacher who brought her to the U. S.

Wherever Satsuko traveled, she sought out gardens studying flowers of all kinds, learning each species by its scientific name as well as its common name. She delighted in planting her yard at home with a profusion of flowers mixing them in her own combinations, co...