Try your hand at botanical art

If would like to learn more about botanical art there are many places to study. Botanical gardens are an obvious place to start: the Royal Botanic Edinburgh offers a diploma, which is a two-year part-time course, and also a certificate: a six-month course, currently onlineonly. Kew offers a number of short courses on subjects, including watercolour, pen and ink, and drawing and dissection, for all levels of experience. West Dean College, Sussex, offers short courses on botanical painting techniques (eg a one-day beginners’ course, Nov 19; a threeday course on painting vegetables, Nov 28-30). For contact details and other suggestions, see below:

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (rbge.org.uk)

Royal Botanic

Gardens, Kew (kew.org)

West Dean College, Sussex (westdean.org.uk)

Society of Botanical Artists (soc-botanicalartists.org)

Field Studies Council (field-studies-council.org)

Linnean Society, London (linnean.org)

Cambridge University Botanic Garden (botanic. cam.ac.uk)

Midlands Arts Centre (macbirmingham.co.uk)

Chelsea School of

Botanical Art, London (amicusbotanicus.com)

Eden Project, Cornwall (edenproject.com)

Sir Harold Hiller Gardens and Arboretum, Hampshire (hants.gov.uk)

Higham Hall College, Cumbria (highamhall.com)

Kingcombe Centre, Dorset (dorset wildlifetrust.org.uk)

Nature in Art, Gloucester (natureinart.org.uk)