An illuminating record of the treasures of Sheffield’s Botanical Garden, recording the beauty and lifecycle of both native and exotic plants.
I have recently had the thrill of working with the historical collection of botanical illustrations held by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. So it is a delight to discover that the delicate art of botanical drawing continues to thrive, represented here by over 100 contemporary illustrations from the collection of The Florilegium Society at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.
Many of the contributors to the archive – all women – studied botanical illustration at Sheffield University. As this parent of a former Sheffield student can attest, the
Botanical Gardens are as popular with visitors as with the city’s residents.
The exotics in the pavilions are well represented, from colourful mandevillas and bristly banksias to the weird Australian grass tree, Xanthorrhoea australis, beautifully rendered by artist Cathrine Allsopp. But perhaps even more satisfying are the careful studies of familiar plants we may take for granted, whether dainty primroses or lofty oaks. It is especially poignant to see Jo Edwards’ drawing of our threatened native ash, Fraxinus excelsior. Most of the artists employ a mix of graphite pencil and watercolour, but a few monochrome pencil studies prove wonderfully expressive, such as Julie Small’s rendition of the giant redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum.
The text that accompanies each entry can read a little like a miscellaneous assortment of facts, its brevity sometimes leading to a distorted account of key historical figures or even errors (the naturalist Joseph Banks made not three but one visit to
Australia, famously aboard HMS Endeavour). That aside, there is much to appreciate in the useful introductions to lesser-known collectors such as Henry Fletcher Hance and William Hudson, the excellent, brief accounts of processes such as buzz pollination, and the clear explanations of the often-convoluted taxonomy of featured plants.