Exhibition of the special plants of the Quantock Hills National Landscape 11-26 July
Celebrating the special flora of the Quantock Hills
The Quantock Hills National Landscape Team, in partnership with the South West Society of Botanical Artists, is excited to announce the first exhibition of the special plants of the Quantock Hills National Landscape, running from 11 – 26 July in the Music Hall at Fyne Court.
In 2024 the South West Society of Botanical Artists approached the Quantock Hills National Landscape Team with a proposal for an arts project, following successful projects in the New Forest and in other Protected Landscapes. The project would concentrate on the flora of the Quantock Hills, celebrating the special habitats including heathland, woodland, farmland and the coast. The timing was perfect, as having just produced the Quantock Hills Nature Recovery Plan, the Team was aware that the understanding and promotion of flora and fungi was behind that of the fauna of the National Landscape.
The project has undertaken a number of arts days, usually one a month, where the group’s artists will convene and draw and paint specimens from the various habitats of interest. This has allowed some members to concentrate on particular groups of flora / fungi e.g. waxcaps, or to follow the lifecycle through the seasons.
As the project progressed it became apparent that the visiting public were interested in the project and the group decided to run several painting workshops open to the public. These have proved extremely popular with a number of people joining SWSBA to continue to develop their artistic skills.
Iain Porter, Manager of the National Landscape Team said “This excellent project has produced a significant body of art based on plants, fungi and lichen species, and we are excited to be running exhibit showcasing the work of the group, allowing artists and the general public the opportunity to discover more about the special flora of the Quantock Hills.”
Mary Taylor, South West Society of Botanical Artist said “We are creating an archive of paintings of the significant plants, fungi and lichens that can be of use to the Quantock Hills National Landscape Team. We are raising the profile of plant life on the Quantocks and through our open workshops we have enabled those attending to explore botanical painting. The Quantocks project is very rewarding for all those involved and we are all looking forward to the first exhibition of our work.”
Find out more about the Quantock Hills National Landscape here