A new Affiliation!
Karen Stewart and Margaret King, Founder
“How the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium pollinated an idea that took root in South Africa”
by Karen Stewart, Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden Florilegium
In April 2023 I curated a 150 botanical painting exhibition at the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, for BAASA (Botanical Artists’ Association of Southern Africa). During the exhibition I met Margaret King who is a South African-born botanical artist, currently living and working in London. She was in SA to celebrate her 90th birthday, and came to see the exhibition. We got chatting and she told me all about the Chelsea Physic Garden’s collection, to which she has contributed work. She said to me: “You should start a florilegium here”. It was like a firework went off in my head.
Karen Stewart and Mary Ellen Taylor, Chair
In July of 2023, my husband and I were lucky enough to be visiting my sister in the UK. I had spoken to Mary Ellen and set up a meeting at the Physic Garden. Mary Ellen was extremely generous with her time and knowledge, meticulously explaining how the florilegium works and how it started.
I left that meeting inspired and realised that a project at this kind and scale was possible. And when I got back home I started thinking about how to actualize the project.
In 2023 and 2024 I had curated two Botanical Art exhibitions for Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden (SUBG). I was really impressed by the scientific and practical work the garden is doing to conserve our rapidly disappearing indigenous flora. I also felt that the connection with the university was important because of its proximity to botanists, young minds, future patrons and fans.
Due to the practical horticultural expertise SUBG, the gardens have also become centre for reviving and keeping alive specimens of red data species – some of which arrive in sacks that have been confiscated from traders in illegal plants that have been plundered from the wild.
I am currently working on a permanent botanical art collection for the garden and thus far have secured 16 paintings. South Africa has a number of extremely talented botanical artists who have been a huge help to get the project off the ground. The curator of the Garden, Dr Kirkwood, is also very supportive of this idea – which is still evolving.
I sent our recent exhibition catalogues to Dr Shirley Sherwood appealing to her for help and we met when she was in Stellenbosch in January. She was very excited at the idea of a new florilegium starting in South Africa and has offered her generous support to get it up and running. It was decided that the focus for the first phase of the project would be on the critically endangered red-data floral species of Southern Africa.
Due to the high number of local flora species that are rapidly disappearing – because of changing climatic conditions and illegal poaching – we are still looking for funders to take the project to its full potential and build on the momentum that the world-class Grootbos Florilegium has created.
We feel honoured to have made an affiliation with Chelsea Physic Garden’s Florilegium Society. We hope this partnership flourishes into the future.
