The Accidental Botanist

Global adventurer Robbie Honey spends much of his time searching out and deconstructing some of the world’s most exotic flowers. This book features more than 90 specimens collected from as far afield as the Malaysian rainforest, the African veldt, and an English churchyard. No plant is beyond reach.

Each specimen is meticulously laid out and photographed using an iPhone, as soon as it is picked, to create miniature plant portraits. Robbie’s fresh approach gives traditional botany a contemporary edge. Arranged by colour – red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, pink, then white – the plants are highly accessible as well as beautiful to look at. Botany, at last, has been transformed for a modern audience.

Robbie was born and brought up in Harare, Zimbabwe and studied horticulture, interior design and photography in England, Holland, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He trained in event floristry in London, under Ming Veevers Carter, and started his own company counting Hermes, Dior, Valentino and Vivienne Westwood amongst his many clients. Robbie lectures and holds masterclasses in floristry at the flower schools in London, Beijing, Seoul, New York and Virginia, USA. He has amassed a huge international following on social media.