Stitching Botanical

This volunteer textile art group is on an exciting and evolving journey to create a permanent collection of textile works for the Garden.

Founded in 2014 by Marilyn Caruana, the Stitching Botanical group supports the Botanic Garden’s work to share knowledge of plant science and inspire appreciation for Welsh flora, culture, and heritage. Their distinctive textile art, commissioned by the various departments across the Botanic Garden or developed independently by the group, engages visitors with all aspects of the Garden’s work. Over the past twelve years, they have produced an extensive collection of work that enhances events, aids educational programs, and helps promote the Botanic Garden’s work to a broad audience, both at the Botanic Garden and further afield through exhibitions and events.

Projects have included the Plant Pharmacy Patchwork, displaying nearly 200 pharmaceutical plants in stitch, Fungi in Fibre, Pollinating Insects, Edible Botanicals and a series panels showing the fauna and flora of five local rivers. Recently, the group collaborated with the Herbarium team to create a Stitched Herbarium featuring plants from its collection which are listed in the Red Data List for Wales.

In recent years, the group has also delighted visitors with a number of seasonal displays, such as a colourful assortment of patchwork, knitted and crocheted pumpkins and the Easter Barrow featuring intricately stitched eggs, chicks, and rabbits. The seasonal textile flower Photo Arch, created with large three-dimensional botanicals, has become a favourite spot in the Botanic Garden, offering visitors a picturesque place to capture memories of their visit and share photos with friends and family.

The group meets at the Garden every month to discuss, plan and create their ideas, although most of the finished pieces of textile artwork are created over countless hours working at home. Although not a formal teaching group, the monthly sessions provide guidance and skill-sharing, for its Stitching Botanical volunteers, covering techniques such as appliqué, fabric colouring, manipulation, hand and machine embroidery, patching, raised embroidery, and felting.

They also make use the excellent collections in the Garden’s Library which provides them with botanical art and photographic references, helping them to ensure their work is a lifelike representation. Members thrive in this creative environment, which is rooted in Wales’ textile tradition. The group believe they may be the first to be working within a Botanic Garden in this way – let us know if there are others.

You can follow the group’s progress on the Stitching Botanical Facebook page, where they share ongoing progress and completed work. This bilingual short film by Lily Tiger Well also beautifully captures the work of the Stitching Botanical group. The group also has some work included in the People’s Collection of Wales.