About This Collection
The collection falls into a few fairly distinct strands, and knowing which one you're drawn to makes browsing two hundred prints a lot quicker. The vintage botanical illustrations are the largest strand: single plants drawn in the careful, slightly obsessive manner of an old horticultural plate. The Croton Interruptum Print, the Begonia Falcifolia Print, the Caladium Belleymei Print and the Japanese Maple Print are typical, each one a leaf study where the veining and variegation do all the work. These vintage botanical prints suit anyone who owns more houseplants than chairs.
The Matisse botanicals take the opposite approach: flat, cut-paper leaf and flower shapes in blue, pink, sage, grey and cream. The Blue Matisse Botanical Print and the Sage Green Matisse Botanical Print are good starting points, and the Cream Matisse Sun & Tulips Print is the softest of the set. The full range lives in the Matisse prints collection.
The Japanese flower prints are bolder again. The Kyoto Flower Garden Print and the Kyoto Flower Show Print are two of the most popular prints in the collection, with dense, graphic florals that sit somewhere between a vintage exhibition poster and Japandi calm. The Shikoku Rainfall Print is the quieter alternative.
The flowers, gardens and floral animals strand is where things get warmer and more personal. The Floral Whippet Print is the best seller in the whole collection, which suggests the quickest way to improve a botanical print is to add a whippet. The Wisteria Cascade Print, the Dahlia Bouquet Print and the Lemon Tree Courtyard Print bring in garden scenes and cut flowers, while the birth flower prints, from January Carnation to December Holly, also have their own home in the birth month prints collection.
For hedgehogs, foxes and barn owls set in dense Arts and Crafts foliage, head to the William Morris prints collection. For flower-led pieces with fewer leaves and more petals, the floral prints collection is the natural next stop.
What rooms suit botanical prints?
Living rooms can take the bolder end of the collection. A Kyoto flower print or a Matisse Sun & Tulips print at A2 or A1 will anchor a sofa wall on its own.
Bedrooms suit the calmer pieces: the sage, cream and grey Matisse botanicals and the vintage leaf illustrations, which bring in plenty of green without much visual noise.
Kitchens are a natural fit for anything edible. The Mediterranean Lemon Kitchen Print, the Vintage Citrus and Vintage Pear prints and the Porcini Mushroom Kitchen Print all belong near a worktop. A porcini is technically a fungus rather than a plant, but nobody has written in to complain.
For gallery walls, these are the easiest building block there is, because leaves go with nearly everything. A row of three or four leaf illustrations at A4 or A3 looks deliberate straight away, and they mix happily with Japanese prints or anything from the green wall art collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are botanical prints?
They are artworks centred on plants: leaves, flowers, fruit and trees, drawn either with scientific precision or with a good deal more artistic licence. The tradition goes back to hand-coloured horticultural plates, and here it sits alongside modern takes such as Matisse-style cut-outs, Japanese flower posters and William Morris-inspired woodland prints.
What's the difference between botanical and floral prints?
Floral prints are about flowers: bouquets, blooms and colour. Botanical art covers plants in general, so leaves, stems, foliage and fruit all count, and many of the vintage illustrations here have no flower at all, just a very well-drawn leaf. Plenty of prints sit in both collections, but if you want green rather than pink, botanical is the place to start.
Are botanical prints good gifts?
They're one of the safer gifts in the shop, because very few people have strong objections to leaves. The vintage plant prints make a reliable plant lover gift for houseplant enthusiasts and gardeners, the birth flower prints make a personal birthday gift matched to the recipient's month, and the Matisse botanical prints suit anyone with a modern, pared-back home.
What sizes are available?
Most prints are available in sizes from 5x7 up to A1, with both metric and US paper sizes. Full size options are shown on each individual product page. For a pair or row of vintage leaf illustrations, A4 and A3 work well, while the Japanese and Matisse prints hold a living room wall best at A2 or A1.
Can all prints be ordered framed?
Yes. All prints can be ordered framed. We're rolling framed options out across the site, so individual listings will show whether a framed version is currently available. If you'd like a framed version of a print that doesn't yet have that option listed, get in touch and we'll sort it for you.
What is the print quality like?
Prints are produced on FSC-certified 200gsm fine art paper using a 12-colour press with a matte, glare-free finish. The subtle variegation in the vintage leaf illustrations, from silvery greens to deep reds, is where the 12-colour process earns its keep.
Where do you ship and how long does delivery take?
We ship worldwide via Gelato's global print network, meaning your order is fulfilled close to where you live. Every print is made to order and dispatched promptly, then arrives within 2 to 5 business days of dispatch. Free shipping applies to US and UK orders.
