The Florilegium ― The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Celebrating 200 Years

The Florilegium Society at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney was formed in 2005 as a unique melding of art, history, and botany. It sought to represent the living collection of the Gardens through paintings, and artists around the world have contributed their representations of the most important plants from the Gardens’ history.
This beautifully produced book is a celebration of two hundred years of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, showcasing the botanical richness of these Gardens through the eyes of sixty-four exceptional Australian and international botanical artists. The botanical paintings are presented chronologically according to the date of each species’ introduction to the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney or to its Blue Mountains Garden at Mount Tomah or the Australian Garden at Mount Annan. Each painting is accompanied by a botanical description written by Louisa Murray and a historic overview by Colleen Morris detailing the discovery of the featured species, its historic and cultural significance, and introduction to the Gardens. With paintings of indigenous Australian plants as well as more exotic species from Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe, The Florilegium truly reflects the diversity of the three Gardens.

Colleen Morris is a landscape heritage consultant in Sydney. She was the national chair of the Australian Garden History Society from 2003 to 2009, and her publications include Terrace Houses in Australia and Lost Gardens of Sydney. Louisa Murray is the flora botanist at the National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.