Florilegium Society

Alison Forbes Brown

Alison Forbes Brown was born in Scotland, educated in Kenya and Zimbabwe and is widely travelled.  After a full -time business career, Alison pursued her long-standing interest in horticulture and botanical art. Watercolour, Pencil, Ink are Alison’s favoured media. Alison gained a Diploma in Botanical Illustration from the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1996, and studied Natural History Illustration at Brighton University from 1997 – 1999. She is a founder member and now a Fellow of the Florilegium Society, Alison was the Societies Programme Secretary for a time and now maintains its Database. Her work has been displayed in exhibitions at the The Hunt Institute of Botanical Art in Pittsburgh in 1998 and 2000, and at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in 2009.  She has work in The Hunt Institute’s permanent collection as well.  Alison’s work has been widely used by the Society and the Physic Garden; and is held in many private collections.

Alister Mathews

Alister Mathews BSc. has a degree in Botany and only started painting later in life after a career in teaching.  Completely self taught to draw accurately and paint in watercolours.  Entered first ever exhibition which was with The Society of Botanical Artists and was offered membership.  Exhibited with them annually for 38 years, and became at one time Vice President and appears in all their books.  Her paintings are in the permanent collections of The National Museum of Wales, The Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA,  The Shirley Sherwood Collection and The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society.

Andrew Brown

Andrew taught Biology in independent schools before taking

early retirement to become a freelance botanical illustrator.

Since 2002 he has worked in pen and ink, mainly for the Royal

Botanic Gardens, Kew, producing illustrations of new species,

for floras and for taxonomic revisions. The RHS have awarded

him four Gold and two Silver Gilt medals for his paintings.

Anna Straupe

Anna is a London based botanical artist specialising in coloured pencil medium.Having attended art schools from a young age, she furthered her artistic and design background while undertaking a degree in Interior Architecture and Design. After deciding not to pursue a career within the field of her chosen studies, she discovered the botanical studies of Old Masters, and feeling the urge to try out this traditional form of art for herself, she was encouraged to take on a diploma course with the Society of Botanical Artists. It is, in fact, this experience and Anna’s admiration for all things natural that have brought her the passion and excitement for creating each artwork. Since then she has also indulged in her other artistic interest – jewellery design, and, in recent years, has completed courses in jewellery illustration, design and CAD/ CAM at Central Saint Martins and GIA (Gemological Institute of America) in London. Her jewellery illustrations have been exhibited at the Goldsmith’s Hall. With focus now full time on her art, Anna takes part in exhibitions nationwide, including Mall Galleries in London and Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick. Most notably at the Society of Botanical Artists annual exhibitions Plantae, with their 40th anniversary exhibition last summer, and the UK Colour Pencil Society’s Silver Exhibition this spring.

Now, she combines her appreciation for the natural world and her artistic background and skill in creating botanical artworks for a variety of clients and uses. Anna’s work expresses her interest and desire to increase awareness of the complexity and importance of the plant world, while drawing attention to often overlooked details. She is Secretary and Painting Member of Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, Association of Botanical Artists, UK Colour Pencil Society and Tadworth Art Group. If you would like a bespoke botanical representation of something specific, or simply are an enthusiast or a collector, please feel free to get in touch regarding commissions, prints or any other queries:

Ashley Knowles

Ashley Knowles is a botanical illustrator and printmaker originally from The Bahamas, who has lived and worked in the UK for nearly a decade. Her academic background includes an MSc in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology from Oxford University, a perspective that deeply informs her artistic interest in the cultural, historical, and ecological narratives of plants. She holds both a Certificate and an Advanced Certificate in Botanical Illustration from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) Diploma.

Her understanding of the historical and medicinal context of plants has been significantly shaped by herbalist courses taken at the Chelsea Physic Garden, and she seeks to contribute to the Gardens legacy by recording species of cultural and medicinal significance. Ashley is currently a member of the Spike Island printmaking studio in Bristol, where she continues to refine her technique in relief printmaking alongside her formal botanical studies.

Barbara Clemence

From an early age Barbara Clemence has been interested in drawing and observing plants ,I remember at the age of about eight sitting in a small overgrown field looking at the grasses, noticing how many different grasses and colours there were. Her serious drawing began in her twenties when she had a young family, in the evening when all was quiet she would draw and paint. She works principally in watercolour, the way it works on the paper, the lovely translucent colours it produces is such a pleasure, though she has developed a love of silverpoint the drawing process is so therapeutic just hand, eye and a silver wire. Recently she attended an icon painting course making egg tempera and water gilding which was fascinating. Her love of plants and painting them have enriched her life beyond measure. She is a Fellow of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and has exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society many times, receiving four silver medals. The Rutland Millennium award was presented to her for the depiction ‘of a Moment in Time’ with a detailed watercolour of a Dandelion Seed Head. She was also commissioned to paint six local heritage apples for the Stamford Community Orchard Group through a South Kesteven grant. Her original designs have been sold to private collectors worldwide as well.

Bronia Gill

Bronia brought her love for art and nature from the Czech Republic, where she grew up in a teaching family. She studied botany at grammar school before graduating in primary education, specializing in art education. Now living in the UK and working in education, she graduated from the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) Distance Learning Diploma Course.  

Having returned to painting in recent years, Bronia continuously refines her craft to depict plants with truth and beauty. Living near the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, she finds endless inspiration in its collections. Through her watercolours, nature walks with her grandchildren, work with children at school and in the Rychleby Eco Centre, she aims to highlight the beauty of plants and inspire children to protect nature.

Candida Groom

Having initially trained in textile design, Candida went on work with ceramics before taking up Botanical Art. She gained her diploma with Distinction from the Chelsea School of Botanical Art in 2016

Candida now sells her art through galleries and undertakes commissions and illustration work for books and magazines.

Carol Laird

I was born and educated as a High School Teacher in Australia. Impressed by illustrations at an historic house, I had a secret dream to be a botanical painter. Moving to the UK, I took the opportunity to complete a Diploma of Botanical Painting (2012) and joined the Chelsea Florilegium in 2013: Botany, blooms, history, fellowship.

Caroline Hervey-Bathhurst

Caroline is a versatile and accomplished artist, based near Winchester in Hampshire. She specialises in portraiture and has shown her work at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Academy in London. She is also an expert botanical painter and her art is featured in the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society’s Archive of rare plants in the garden. Furthermore, Caroline is well known for her Jane Austen watercolour illustrations , which reflect different scenes from Austen’s enduringly popular novels.

Predominantly, Caroline works from life – whether in the studio, or outdoors ‘en plein air’ – capturing the characteristics of her subject or the beauty of nature on canvas or in the sketchbook. She uses a variety of media to create her art – mostly oils, pastels, watercolours, and pencil. Her subject matter dictates her choice of materials. In this way, she captures the essence of a sitter, the ambience of a room, a landscape, or a still life, with deft strokes of the pastel or paintbrush.

Caroline’s art is in high demand and she often takes commissions from word-of-mouth recommendations.

Charlotte Long

After 35 years working as an architect the latter 30 years spent managing her own architectural practice Charlotte discovered the joys of botanical art.

After gaining her diploma with distinction from Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and being awarded the Eve Bennett Award for Botanic Illustration, Charlotte relocated to Devon in 2018 and is now a member of South West Society of Botanic Artists as well as the Florilegium.

Chrissie Lightfoot

Fellow of the CPGFS.  RHS silver Grenfell medal.  Work purchased by the Hunt Institute and commissioned work in private collections.  Paintings included in a number of publications and was selected for inclusion in both the Highgrove and the Transylvanian Florilegium.  Group exhibitions in UK and abroad including the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew and the Garden Museum, Lambeth.

Christine Battle

Christine Battle (b. 1956, Montreal, Canada) is an internationally recognised botanical artist living and working in Wiltshire, UK. She finds constant inspiration in the fields, hedgerows and woods surrounding her home. She has exhibited in New York, London and Sydney and her work is held in the Hunt Institute’s permanent collection of botanical art in Pittsburgh, USA. She also regularly contributes illustrations to Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, published by Kew Gardens. Christine trained at the English Gardening School at Chelsea Physic Garden and works in the traditional manner using watercolour on hand-made paper.

Deborah Lambkin

Deborah has been a professional botanical illustrator since leaving the National College of Art and Design, Ireland in 1991. She works on a freelance basis for the Royal Horticultural Society and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

She has held the position of Orchid Artist to the Royal Horticultural Society since 2005 and in that time, she has painted more than 500 orchid paintings. In 2014 she joined RHS Picture Advisory Panel which includes judging at the yearly RHS Botanical Art shows at the Saatchi Gallery London. In 2019 she was awarded the Jill Smythies Award for excellence in scientific botanical illustration by the Linnean Society of London, and in 2020 she received the Margaret Flockton Award 1st Prize from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for her illustration of a new species of Gastrodia orchid.

Deborah regularly exhibits, talks about her work and does demonstrations.

Dugald Graham-Campbell

Dugald Graham-Campbell previously Chairman of the CPG Florilegium Society, remains a member. Dugald trained in graphic design at St Martins School of Art. He has exhibited over many years in London including at the Royal Watercolour Society, and the Society of Botanical Artists.

Eiko Takano

Emma van Klaveren

Emma has been painting professionally for twenty-five years, initially as a Muralist and Decorative Painter, then as Head of Art at two large preparatory schools and now as a freelance Botanical Artist and Illustrator. Emma works with industries and magazines who use botanicals in their products and in their marketing. She also welcomes private commissions. She has a Diploma with Merit from The Chelsea School of Botanical Art, she is a Painting Member of The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, The Association of British Botanical Artists (ABBA), The American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) and Amicus Botanicus. 

Instagram & Facebook: @emmasbotanicals

Website: www.emmasbotanicals.com

Fujiko Muraoka

Gaynor Dickeson

Gaynor Dickeson is a largely self-taught artist whose fascination with plants and drawing has grown into a lifelong practice. She deepened her skills through the Society of Botanical Artists’ diploma programme, graduating with distinction in 2009, and has since continued to develop her own voice in the space between botanical art and botanical illustration.

Working mainly in watercolour, coloured pencil, and graphite on paper, as well as watercolour and graphite on vellum, Gaynor’s work is rooted in careful observation and a love of detail. Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited internationally including New York, Norway, and the UK, and are held in collections including the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, USA. Over the years, she has been honoured with three medals from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Now living in Norway, Gaynor continues to create and exhibit her work, and is delighted to contribute to the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society’s ongoing celebration of plants through art.

Gillian Barlow

Paintings in watercolour on paper and vellum, preferring wild plant species, trees, medicinal plants. Work in: Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium; the Prince’s Trust Transylvania Florilegium; Sydney Botanic Gardens Florilegium; Hunt Institute, Pittsburgh USA; RBG Kew Curtis Botanical Magazine archive; Shirley Sherwood Collection, and others. www.gillianbarlow.com

Guy William Eves

In November 2009, Guy was elected as a Painting Member of The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and elected as a Fellow in February 2013. His work is included in The Florilegium Society’s latest publication, ‘Botanical Illustration from Chelsea Physic Garden’. Editor of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Newsletter. He was elected as a full member, and is now Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists. He received Highly Commended Award at the Society’s Open Show 2010 and the President’s Award for the ‘Whole Body of Work in Media other than Watercolour’. He was awarded Certificates of Botanical Merit in SBA Open Show’s 2011, 2015, 2022, 2023. Exhibiting Excellence in Graphite 2019, 2021, 2023. 2023 1st prize John Waterman Award, Best in Show, judged by Helen Allen and Charlotte Brooks for his Yew Tree.

He is currently a tutor on the SBA Distant Learning Diploma Course and contributor in their new book “Botanical Painting with the Society of Botanical Artists” in the chapters on Drawing Techniques. He gives talks given on graphite techniques, demonstrations and workshops for The Society of Botanical Artists, The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, Hampton Court Palace Florilegium Society, Colchester & Ipswich Museums, The Sheffield, Birmingham and Leicester Botanical Florilegium Art Societies.

RHS Silver-Gilt Medallist, RHS London Botanical Art Show 2015 ‘The Black & White of Colour’. RHS St. Vincent Square, London. RHS Silver-Gilt Medallist, RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2021 ‘For the Love of Ferns’. Saatchi Gallery, London.

Helen Allen

Helen Allen is a graduate of the English Gardening School, taught by Anne Marie Evans. Trained as a textile designer and teacher, Helen became Course Director of the Diploma course in botanical painting and illustration before opening the Chelsea School of Botanical Art (now closed) at the Chelsea Physic Garden between 2014 and 2018; teaching and sharing her love of plants and art.

Helen has exhibited in Wales and internationally; her work is held in the Archives of Chelsea Physic Garden, Hampton Court Palace, the Archives of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Grootbos Foundation Florilegium, as well as a number of other collections. Her work may also be found in the Highgrove Florilegium, and Transylvania Florilegium; Helen led the project on location in Transylvania and in London. Recently Helen was awarded a residency at Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Virginia, USA and invited to paint for it’s Florilegium.

Helen Ayers

Helen Ayers, . BA Graphic Design. Botanising since early childhood with Wild Flower Society. Inspired to paint plants by Shirley Sherwood’s exhibition at Ashmolean 2006. Kew Certificate in Botanical Illustration 2010. Exhibited at RHS Shows. Two paintings in Royal College of Physicians’ College Herbal 2018. Fellow of Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society.

Jarnie Godwin

Born in East London, Jarnie Godwin is a self taught botancial artist. She has been a teacher, a graphic designer and has also received a formal training in Architecture. These disciplines influence the work Jarnie focuses on now, combining her love of structure, vibrancy and detail, with precision and realism at its heart.

In 2025, Jarnie was awarded a RHS Gold Medal for her series of paintings dedicated to species of tulips. She is the author of the book “Vibrant Botanical Painting: The life of plants in watercolour” publsihed by The Crowood Press. Her paintings can be found in both private and public collections, inlcuding the prestigious Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh.

IG and Website

Jeni Neale (nee Barlow)

Watching fruit and vegetables grow on my father’s allotment sparked my love for botanical art. Capturing the essence and character of a plant in detail, its shape and zing of colour is a constant challenge. There’s always something to paint without leaving the house! I enjoy the process of painting and its tranquillity and therapeutic qualities. I teach regular classes for adults on all aspects of botanical art and have regularly exhibited with the B.S.B.A the Society of Botanical Artists, the Birmingham Watercolour Society and the SBA. I have three paintings in the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Archive and one in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in the USA.

Jenny Webster

Jenny gained a certificate with distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists in 2009. She is a life member of the Leicestershire Society of Botanical Illustrators and a Fellow of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society. She has won three Silver Gilt medals from the RHS in the past few years. Her work has been exhibited at Kew Gardens, Burghley House, Leicester Guildhall and the Yarrow Gallery, Oundle.
Email: 

Jill Mayhew

Jill took early retirement from Physics teaching in 2001 and began to study botanical painting under Anne-Marie Evans.

She was awarded a Silver-gilt medal at the 2015 RHS London show and has paintings in both the Highgrove and the Transylvania Florilegia as well as other publications.

Joanna Craig-Mcfeely

Joanna took up Botanical illustration on retirement from her Physiotherapy practice and became a member of several Art Societies, she also served as a Directer of the SBA for ten years.

After attending Jenny Phillips Master Classes in Italy Joanna adopted her technique of mixing from a reduced pallet of only six water colours, she paints  on both Paper and vellum and holds five RHS silver gilt  medals.

Her work is published and in collections both here and abroad including The Hunt Institute for Botanical Illustration USA and both volumes of the Price of Wales HIghgrove Florilegium  Collection.

Joanna Craig-McFeely fellow CPGFS, Hon member SBA  Rtd. , FLS

Josephine Edwards

Jo studied in Birmingham for a diploma in art and design and worked as a textile designer, art teacher and botanical illustrator. She was awarded the Diploma in Botanical Illustration from the University of Sheffield and is a Fellow of both the Sheffield Florilegium Society and Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society.
Jo works in coloured pencil.

Judi Stone

Judi Stone works as an illustrator at Kew Gardens, focusing especially on documenting new species of orchids. For the Society she has produced both line drawings and paintings of many plants, with a special interest in the Physic Garden’s National Collection of pelargoniums. Chair of the Society from 2007 – 2013.

Kimiko Kambe-Gang

After hectic financial world in the city life for 30years, I was struggling to fit in the retirement life. By my friend recommendation, I joined a botanical class taught by Mayumi Hashi.  Then I took SBADLDC and didn’t get top Award, but given Jantien Burggaaf Memorial award.  I was accepted as a member of CPGFS and my first picture submitted to the society was nominated to the picture of their 20^th anniversary.

Li Zhang

Li is a botanical artist based in Cheshire. She trained at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, where she graduated with distinction from the Diploma of Botanical Illustration, and was awarded the Lizzie Sanders Award for Excellence in 2025. With a particular passion for trees, Li’s work explores their life cycles through a storytelling approach, capturing growth, change, and continuity.

Her practice follows a rigorous and structured process: collecting plant specimens, closely studying and dissecting each part, producing measured drawings and colour studies, and finally creating carefully composed watercolour paintings. Li works primarily in watercolour on hot-pressed paper, alongside graphite and ink.

Maggy Fitzpatrick

I qualified and worked as a Calligrapher and Heraldic Artist for many years before my love for plants and gardening drew me to Botanical Illustration.

My heraldic and illumination work was mainly in gouache and oils on calfskin vellum, canvas and silk, whilst my botanical work is primarily in watercolour and graphite although I am interested in exploring the use of different media and supports including silverpoint.

E-mail: 

Web site: maggyfitzpatrick.co.uk

Instagram:  Maggy Fitzpatrick Artist

Mariella Baldwin

Mariella has a breadth of knowledge within the Visual Arts and awarded her M.A. from the University of Sussex.  She studied Botanical Illustration under the tuition of Anne-Marie Evans at the English Gardening School at Chelsea Physic Garden.  She maintains a relationship with the garden through the Florilegium Society.

Marina Kiselyova

Marina Kiselyova was born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1983. She showed an early interest in art, but pursued a different path academically. She graduated from Odessa National University’s Applied Mathematics faculty in 2006 and embarked on a career in IT. In 2010, she relocated to London, where she became acquainted with botanical art. She was fascinated by the scientific and artistic aspects of botanical illustration and botanical art and decided to study the history and techniques of this genre.

Marina showed her artwork in numerous exhibitions across the United Kingdom, Europe, and the USA. Marina has received several awards for her work, including the Royal Horticultural Society Gold Medal as part of the group (2019) and various awards from the SBA, she also has her work included in the Hunt Institute collection. She continues to explore new subjects and techniques in her quest to capture the essence of nature in her art.

Mary Ellen Taylor

Mary Ellen trained at the Chelsea Physic Garden after living 2 decades in the Galapagos Islands and the Andes. Now Chair of the CPG Florilegium Society, she teaches in the UK and abroad, her work has been published, sold internationally, is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and was recently selected for inclusion in the Transylvania Florilegium created under the umbrella of the Prince of Wales’s Foundation Romania.

Mayumi Hashi

She is the recipient of two Gold Medals from the RHS.  Her work is represented in the Highgrove Florilegium, the Transylvania Florilegium, the Hunt Institute, Flora Japonica, the Florilegium of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney and the Royal College of Physicians where she was Artist in residence 2010-2011.  She is a contributor for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine.   Instagram: @mayumihashiart

Nicki Tullett

I love drawing attention to the beauty of plants often overlooked – the colours in a Nettle stem (Urticaria dioica), for example, are beautiful.  I was Hon. Secretary of the Florilegium for five years.  My work is in the Garden’s Archive, the Shirley Sherwood Collection, Botanical Illustration from Chelsea Physic Garden and The Illustrated College Herbal – Plants Pharmacopoea Londinensis of 1618. 

Pamela Donoghue

Pamela Donoghue is a Fellow of Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, and a Member of Leicestershire Society of Botanical Illustrators. She has been a plant lover from childhood and her addiction to gardening lead to taking instruction on botanical illustration. She has exhibited at various galleries including The Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew, has work in several publications and private collections in Europe and Brazil.

Peggy Dawe

Peggy was a very active Fellow Member of this Society, and also of The Society of Botanical Artists; she was always the oldest person on Receiving Day, when the artworks for the Annual Exhibition are received, last exhibiting in 2009.

Peggy grew up in Wallington, Surrey. After the war she married Don Dawe, moving to Purley, Surrey, and they had two daughters – Sarah and Elizabeth. Comparatively late in life, Peggy followed her twin passions of botany and art by specialising in botanical painting. She won a gold artistic medal in one of the Alpine Garden Society shows, and her paintings were exhibited throughout Europe and regularly at the RHS shows in London, winning prestigious medals. Some of her paintings have also been published on greeting cards, and her line drawings illustrate The Gardener’s Guide to growing Hardy Geraniums (Bath & Jones 1994). She celebrated her 100th birthday in September 2024.

Penny Gould

Penny’s childhood amongst the steep-banked lanes of rural Devon, strewn with wild flowers at a child’s eye level, laid the foundations for a life-long fascination with plants. Penny teaches botanical art close to her Oxfordshire home, constantly finding inspiration in its beautiful and plentiful cultivated and wild flora. Fellow Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, Fellow Society of Botanical Artists, DipSBA (Dist).

Penny Price

2013: Diploma in Botanical Art and Illustration distinction (EGS)
2014: RHS Silver Gilt medal for Botanical Art
Paintings exhibited and/or held in various public collections including three Florilegium societies of which I am a Fellow; The hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Pittsburgh; Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew, and the RHS Lindley Library, London.

Rosamund Flint

Rosamund worked as a Landscape Architect and Urban Designer for nearly 30 years. In private practice she was part of a small team responsible for the award-winning redesign of Leicester Square (2012) and solely responsible for an award-winning new public space outside The Old Bailey. Other large schemes include Millennium Town Park in St Heliers, Jersey, urban design strategies in Glasgow and Athens, smaller schemes for the City of London and new urban spaces for Crossrail and the East London Line. She has previously done projects for The Royal Parks, London Wildlife Trust and several London Boroughs.

Since childhood Rosamund has had a passion for plants, ecology and art. After completing a Postgrad Diploma with Distinction in Planting Design at the London College of Garden Design in 2017, she began to explore becoming a Botanical Artist, receiving a Diploma with Merit in 2020 from The Chelsea School of Botanical Art and she is now a Painting Member of The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society.

Rosemary Lindsay

Rosemary Lindsay is an award-winning botanical artist whose London garden is visited by people from all over the world. Shetrained first in architecture and worked in several architectural practices before her fascination with the structure of plants led to freelance plant illustration.

Rui Jiang

Rui Jiang began her Master’s in Graphic Design at the University for the Creative Arts in Maidstone, Kent. It was during this time her passion for botanical art started.
After a few years being freelance graphic designer in London, Rui’s interest in painting flowers and plants grew. She joined the Diploma course at the Chelsea School of Botanical Art from 2016 – 2017 and graduated with distinction for her final project. she has a particular interest in English Roses, and she had grown 98 different varieties in her garden so far.
Fellow Member of The Linnean Society of London, Fellow Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, Fellow Member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, Member of Association Botanical Artists, Member of Amicus Botanicus and Florilegium Artist for Munstead Wood, National Trust.

RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2022, 2023, Silver-gilt Medal.
The Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Libary acquired works created by Rui, and her paintings are also in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens.

Sally Pinhey

Sally has illustrated four specialist books, “Pears”, “Plums”, “Natural Dyes”, and “The Botanical Illustrator’s Handbook”. .RHS medal- holder and teacher-trained, she taught Art at Kingston Maurward College, Dorset from 2003-2021, formerly the Eden Project, and Art in Action from 2002-5. Her illustrated guide for “Plants for Soil Regeneration” appears in 2021.

Sarah Gardner

Based in North-west England, Sarah came to botanical painting from a career in environmental and horticultural education. Through her art, Sarah seeks to highlight and celebrate the value, diversity and beauty of plant life from the tiniest bryophytes to the tallest trees. She trained with the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA), graduating from their diploma course with distinction in 2023. She is a Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists. At the SBA’s Plantae 2024 exhibition, Sarah was awarded a Certificate of Botanical Merit for her watercolour botanical illustration. She was delighted to be chosen as a recipient of the CPGFS Award for Excellence in Botanical Illustration – sponsored and judged by the CPGFS in their 30th anniversary year – at Plantae 2025 and was subsequently invited to become a painting member of this Society.

Working commercially as a botanical illustrator and tutor, Sarah also supports the work of the Association of Botanical Artists as a Committee Member and chairs the Florilegium Society at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

www.gardnerbotanical.com

Sarah Gould

Sarah Reardon

Sarah worked in advertising and magazine publishing in London, followed by study of paper and textile conservation, gaining an MA in Textile Conservation. Then following relocation to mid-Wales, attended local painting classes, with a special interest in botanical painting, inspired by the local wild flora and gardens. Obtained the Diploma with Merit at the Chelsea School of Botanical Art in 2017. Now a Painting Member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and The Association of British Botanical Artists (ABA).

Sue J Williams

Came late to botanical painting via short course at Kew, but had always been fascinated by the endless variations in colour, texture and pattern in plants as well as their therapeutic uses. Commissioned to paint the indigenous flowering trees and plants for the National Botanic Gardens in Zimbabwe 1998, and designed definitive botanical stamp issue for the Pitcairn Islands 2000.

Awarded RHS Gold Medal in 2008. Work held in major collections in UK and abroad.

Susie Cour-Palais

Susie Cour-Palais has always been inspired by the beauty, structure and intricacy of plants and this – coupled with a passion for drawing – was the irresistible pull which led her to the Chelsea School of Botanical Art diploma course in 2015, graduating in 2019.

Despite a biological sciences background and dabbling in botanical sketchbooks, watercolour painting and natural history interests since her earliest days; Susie’s life went in other directions in the business world until a brief taster of botanical art with renowned teacher, Anne-Marie Evans, at Chelsea Physic Garden in 2004 opened her eyes to a captivating world where art and science meet.

Susie lives part of the year on the Beara Peninsula in southwest Ireland, and the landscape and wild plants in this untouched region are a constant source of inspiration.

Susie was accepted as a member of Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society in 2023. She is also an Associate member of the Eden Project Florilegium Society and the Hampton Court Palace Florilegium Society. She keeps her fascination for the botanical world current as an active member of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) and the Wild Flower Society and is a recent convert to the entrancing, miniature world of bryophytes, which she has full rein to explore in the relict Atlantic rain forests of the west of Ireland!

Svetlana Lanse

Svetlana Lanse holds a Master’s degree in miniature painting. Her interest in botanical art grew during her studies, where her coursework involved studying classical masters like Pierre Joseph Redouté and Maria Sibylla Merian, as well as painting live specimens in botanical gardens. To refine her oil painting and composition, she also studied and reproduced still-life works from the Dutch Golden Age.

Today, Svetlana enjoys teaching botanical art. Her own paintings have been shown in exhibitions internationally, and she has also had the opportunity to serve as a juror for several art competitions. Her work is included in both the Dr. Shirley Sherwood Collection of Contemporary Botanical Art and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. In 2024, she was made a Fellow Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, which she considers a great honour, and in 2025 she joined the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society.

Instagram: @svetlana_lanse

www.svetlanalanse.com

Tracy Howell

Originally from Australia, Tracy Howell now lives in Oxford, where she continues to nurture a lifelong love of plants and gardening. Tracy’s professional background is in commercial interior and furniture design both in Western Australia and later in London, before turning her creative focus more fully toward botanical art.

After completing a Natural History Illustration course in 2007 under the guidance of Rosemary Wise and Barbara McLean this then led to her first group exhibition at Wolfson College, Oxford. She later completed a diploma in Botanical Painting at the English Gardening School based at Chelsea Physic Garden in London in 2009. T

racy is a member of the Oxford Botanic Garden Florilegium (@OBG_Florilegium). The group held their first exhibition at the Oxford Botanic Garden in 2015, followed by another at St John’s College Barn Gallery in 2021 and more recently in October 2025. Tracy has recently become a member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society (@cpgflorilegiumsociety) and of Amicus Botanicus and was recently invited to have a Pop Up at the Bodleian shop in the Western Library, Oxford. She continues to paint and find inspiration in the rich diversity of the plant world.

Vivienne Taylor

William de Wilde

Having initially trained as a medical doctor prior to a career in art, design and teaching, William has always been fascinated by plants and especially their medicinal uses. Since 2008 he has been deeply involved with botanical illustration, a perfect combination of art and science. His father served as Master of the Society of Apothecaries, so CFG has long held a special place in his heart and he was very honoured to become a painting member of the CPGFS in 2016.

He also illustrates rare plants for the National Trust at Nymans near his home in Sussex and is newly appointed an artist in residence at Munstead Wood. In December 2023 he was elected a Society of Botanical Artists Fellow. The SBA has recently awarded him a grant to study and paint the wild flowers on the verges of Sussex.

Yvonne Hammond

Yvonne has been a professional botanical artist since she learned the techniques from Anne Marie Evans at Chelsea Physic Garden. She has since been awarded two RHS Gold Medals (and several silver gilts) and become a tutor herself.

She has exhibited worldwide and has several paintings in the collections of Dr. Shirley Sherwood and the Hunt Institute in Pittsburgh.