Founded in 2004, the Hampton Court Florilegium Society, consisted of a group of Botanical Artists who first met as millennial students of the prestigious English Gardening School’s Diploma Course at the Chelsea Physic Garden.

 

After achieving their diplomas, they wanted to remain together, as like-minded botanical artists, and to continue to share their growing knowledge and skills whilst undertaking a worthwhile joint project.

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Hampton Court Palace was delighted to provide them with a monthly venue and unlimited access to the Palace gardens, greenhouses and park; whilst they provided the Palace with an annual pictorial record of plants from the Palace’s Queen Mary Exotic Plant Collection (started in the late 1600s) for the Palace Archive and posterity.

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Since then, they have been joined by many other artists of a similar standard and their brief has extended to other areas of the Palace glasshouses and gardens, and latterly includes plants of the Historic Henry VIII’s Kitchen Garden at Hampton Court.

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Their artwork only gets accepted for entry into the Palace Archive after they have been judged annually, by a panel of RHS judges, a botanist, the Head of Estates, the Head Gardeners and the Palace and Historic Royal Palaces’ Directors, as being of a high enough standard. The feedback from this meeting provides useful individual feedback for each artist and underpins their personal artistic development.

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The Florilegium Society Artists have shown group exhibits of their personal work at venues around the country and we are delighted to be showing their most recent work here at The Sunbury Gallery.

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Since Covid, they have often hired space at the gallery for Florilegium meetings. You may have seen them at work!

Surrounded by the Walled Garden throughout the spring and summer months the group were inspired to paint and draw the flora and fauna in the Walled Garden.

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This latest exhibition brings together an eclectic range of inspiring painting and drawings of the flora and fauna discovered in the Walled Garden.

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There are currently 289 pictures in the Hampton Court Palace Archive, being looked after and curated by the Palace.

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