Royal Botanical Watercolors Are Coming to the Mass. Horticultural Society

Cyathea australis / Photo provided by Mass. Hort

Copies of botanical watercolors from the garden of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are making their way to Wellesley.

A collection of 124 paintings of plants from the royal family’s estate in Gloucestershire, England, will be on exhibit at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society beginning February 12. The collection of watercolors is called the Highgrove Florilegium. For those who aren’t horticulturists, a florilegium is a set of botanically accurate paintings of living plants from an estate or garden. The Highgrove is the first Royal Florilegium in the United Kingdom.

The florilegium includes depictions of Cyathea australis, known as rough tree ferns, which are native to Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. It also features Rhododendron basilicum, better known as rhododendrons, and Pyrus salicifolia, a Middle Eastern species of pear. The watercolors were done by 73 different artists from around the world.

The Highgrove Florilegium will be on view February 12 through March 12 at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, 617-933-4912, masshort.org.