The Florilegium Society at the Royal Botanic Gardens Inc

The society is a self-funded, voluntary organisation, endorsed by the Trust. The original paintings and their copyright are gifted by the artists to the Trust and held in the Daniel Solander Library in the National Herbarium of New South Wales.

Established botanical artists from Australia and overseas are invited to join the Society and submit paintings for inclusion. The paintings accepted are of the highest standard, botanically accurate and painted as individual artistic responses to the subject. 

Discover which artists and works are in the Florilegium

What is a Florilegium?

The word 'florilegium', literally a gathering of flowers, was first used in 1590 to describe a publication that focused on the beauty of the plants rather than their medicinal value.

Florilegia flourished from the 17th century to the late 19th century and they portrayed collections of rare and exotic plants. The modern florilegium seeks to record plants in gardens of botanical and historic significance or creating collections which highlight the diversity of their respective countries’ flora or of those that are now rare and endangered.

The Society’s first project marked the bicentenary of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney with 89 paintings donated to the Trust. Florilegium: Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Celebrating 200 Years was published in 2016. It provided a historical overview of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, and each colour plate was accompanied by a plant description and text relating it the history of the Botanic Gardens.

Sydney Living Museums held a major exhibition, Florilegium: Sydney’s Painted Garden, at the Museum of Sydney from July to October 2016. It explored the botanical and horticultural development of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and its influence on private gardens, public parks and landscapes of New South Wales since 1816.

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens exhibited Florilegium: Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney from March to September 2018. It highlighted the history and scientific achievements of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

Read through the Florilegium book in its entirety below:

The second project linked the historic Banks and Solander specimens held in the National Herbarium of NSW with the Living Collection of the Botanic Gardens of Sydney to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage in HMB Endeavour.

This project culminated in an exhibition curated by Colleen Morris, of over 50 recent botanical paintings from the 7th-22nd May 2022, at the Lion Gate Lodge, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. The focus was on these historic specimens; drawing attention to the time and place of their collection, and their history, inviting reflection on their significance to science, to First Nations peoples, to collectors and to the Botanic Gardens now. Some of the newly digitised Banks’ and Solander collection images were displayed along with more treasures from the Daniel Solander Library including some of Banks’ Florilegium plates and his specimen cabinet.

In addition to the exhibition, a beautiful limited edition publication was published by the Florilegium Society with support from the Australian Garden History Society.

The 50+ recently gifted paintings were reproduced in full colour and paired with the newly digitised Banks and Solander specimen images. Written by Colleen Morris, each species had its First Nations names and uses where known, a description and quotes from the journals of Joseph Banks, Daniel Solander and artist Sydney Parkinson. It included a preface by Denise Ora, Executive Director, Botanic Gardens of Sydney, a foreword by Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE, an introduction to the Florilegium by Beverly Allen and an essay on the Banks collection by Dr Brett Summerell, Chief Botanist, Botanic Gardens of Sydney.

Read through the Botanic Endeavour book in its entirety below:

Only a small number of the 75 artists who have contributed to the Florilegium since its inception are able to visit the Botanic Gardens, but they have given so much of their time and energy and skill to create these important paintings. Their generosity is the foundation of the projects.

Like the scientific accuracy that botanical art adheres to, the richness of the horticultural displays in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is underpinned by the tradition of a scientific garden, plant collecting and the educational role that the Botanic Gardens encompass as part of our heritage.

Email your questions about the Florilegium.

Banner image: Isopogon anemonifolius - Mary Anne Mein ©RBG&DT      

Join Botanical Artist Angela Lober as she creates her Florilegium painting of the Norfolk Island Pine

Video courtesy of Sydney Living Museums