The Plant Review Artist in Residence competition

The competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone with an artistic flair and a love of all things botanical who entered in 2024

Competition entries and winner 2024

Artists galore entered beautifully diverse botanical pictures for a chance to win a £1,000 commission and have their art featured in The Plant Review.

The results are in and we’re excited to reveal all the amazing entries. The Artist in Residence winner 2024 will illustrate a botanical piece for each of the four issues in 2025.

See the entries and winner
Botanical illustrations
A brief look at some of the botanical illustrations from 2024

About the competition

Botanical artwork
Pictured: Prunus serrula and late summer flowers

From Marianne North to Cedric Morris, plants and art have a long and distinguished association. In celebration of this connection, The Plant Review  magazine holds an annual competition to find an artist to provide the fabulous frontispieces that kick off each issue.

The competition is open to amateurs and professionals from the UK and internationally. Submitted entries are assessed by a panel of judges from the worlds of publishing and botanical art who are looking for not only botanical accuracy but also something of a plant’s character.

Entrants are asked to submit a picture of a named plant of their choice in any medium and any style. The winning picture will appear in the December issues of The Plant Review  and The Garden magazine.

The winner gets a commission worth £1,000 to illustrate botanical pieces for all four issues of The Plant Review  (subjects chosen by the editor, deadlines 1 February, 1 May, 1 August, 1 November). Plus, free copies of the issues in which their artwork appears.
 
Please note: This competition is not currently running

Botanical artwork
Pictured: Galanthus nivalis ‘Alan’s Treat’ and Rubus species

“We aim to entice and beguile, to make people fall in love with the spirit of the plants we feature. To achieve that through art, rather than words, is the challenge we present with this competition.”

James Armitage, Editor of The Plant Review

Judging criteria

Technical elements – Draughtmanship, colour and composition:

  • How well observed is the plant and is the drawing accurate?
  • Are the forms well modelled?
  • Is the colouring sufficiently varied and appropriate to the aimed-for effect?
  • How well has the colour been applied?
  • Is the composition well arranged?

Plants – Botanical details and garden appeal:

  • Within the aimed-for effect, is the treatment of botanical details consistent and accurate?
  • Are the horticulturally important characters of the plant displayed?

Overall presentation – Aesthetics and innovation:

  • Is the artistic impression aesthetically pleasing?
  • Does the picture offer new ways of interpreting the subject?

Making a submission

Botanical artwork
Pictured: Moss roses and Atropa belladonna

Every year submissions are limited to one entry per person. Pictures must be in portrait orientation and show a single named plant or a composition of a group of associated named plants.

Entrants should submit a scan or high-quality photograph of the picture as a jpeg file, 2MB–5MB in size. Name the file being submitted in the following example format: plantrevcomp25artistnameplantname.

To remember for your submission:

  • The competition is now closed
  • All entries need to be accompanied by an email including the name, address, telephone and email contact of the entrant
  • The winner will be notified by a specified date via the contact details provided with their entry

Botanical artwork
Pictured: Sinningia species and Rhododendron ‘Halopeanum’

Additional guidance

  • The Plant Review is a magazine read by gardeners who love plants. Try to offer them a picture that will whet their appetite and fire their enthusiasm 
  • Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and break some of the ‘rules’ of botanical art. The judges are looking for an artistic interpretation of a plant as much as a botanical representation 
  • Choose a plant or associated assemblage of plants to illustrate but not, for instance, a garden scene
  • Pick a plant or plants you are fond of to illustrate, think about what it is you like about it/them and try to bring that out in your artwork

Terms and conditions

1. The competition

The competition is now closed

  • The Plant Review is running this competition to find an artist to create beautiful illustrations for this magazine aimed at plant fanatics
  • The Royal Horticultural Society with registered charity number 222879/SC038262 of 80 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2PE (the RHS) is the promoter of the competition
  • By entering the competition, you agree to these terms and conditions
2. How to enter

The competition is now closed

  • The competition runs from tbc for 2025 (the Opening Date) to Ttbc for 2025 (the Closing Date)
  • To enter the competition, you must submit an illustration of a named plant of your choice in any medium and in any style. Your entry must be accompanied by an email including name, address, telephone and email contact. The competition is open to both amateurs and professionals
  • The submitted entry (the Illustration):
    • (a) must be your own original design
    • (b) should be in portrait orientation and show a single named plant or, alternatively, a composition of a group of associated named plants
    • (c) must be presented as a scan or high-quality photograph of your picture as a jpeg file, 2MB–5MB in size
    • (d) must be saved with the name of the file in the following example format: plantrevcomp25artistnameplantname
  • Competition entries received after the Closing Date will be automatically disqualified
  • No purchase is necessary and there is no charge to register for use of the website
  • The RHS is not responsible for any competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, whatever the reason. The RHS will not accept proof of posting, transmission or receipt as proof of receipt for entry to the competition
  • For help with entries, you can contact [email protected]
3. Eligibility
  • To enter the competition you must be aged 18 years or over
  • You may not enter the competition if you are:
    • (a) an employee of the RHS or its subsidiary companies;
    • (b) an employee of the RHS’ agents or suppliers or its subsidiary companies, who are professionally connected with the competition or its administration; or
    • (c) a member of the immediate families or households of (a) or (b) above
  • By entering the competition, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and eligible to claim the prize you may win. You may be required to provide the RHS with proof that you are eligible to enter the competition
  • The RHS will not accept competition entries that are: automatically generated by computer; completed by third parties or in bulk; illegible, have been altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with; photocopies and not originals; or incomplete
  • There is a limit of one entry per person
  • Entries made on behalf of another person will not be accepted and joint submissions are not allowed
  • The RHS may refuse entry, or refuse to award the prize, to anyone who is:
    • (a) in breach of these terms and conditions; or
    • (b) acting in any way that goes against the spirit or intention of the competition
4. The prize
  • The prize is a £1,000 commission to illustrate the frontispiece for all four issues of The Plant Review published in 2026 (subjects chosen by the editor, deadlines 1 February, 1 May, 1 August, 1 November), and free copies of the issues in which the artwork appears
  • The prize is not negotiable or transferable
  • Competition entries will be judged by a panel of three judges based on the skill/talent required
  • The Judging criteria are as follows:
    • (a) Technical Elements – Draughtsmanship, colour and composition
    • (b) Plants – Botanical details and garden appeal
    • (c) Overall Presentation – Aesthetics and innovation
  • The RHS’ decision is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into
  • The RHS will send the full names of the judges to anyone who writes within one month after the Announcement Date of the competition requesting details of the judges
5. Claiming the prize
  • If you are the winner we will contact you using the contact details provided with your entry on a specified date in November 2025 (tbc) (the Announcement Date) to inform you of this and to ask you for an interview and a photo of yourself for publication
  • The RHS will make all reasonable efforts to contact the winner. If a winner does not respond to the RHS within five working days of being notified by the RHS, then the winner's prize will be forfeited. The RHS may then select another winner in accordance with the process described above
  • A third party may not claim the prize on your behalf
  • The RHS must either publish or make available information that indicates that a valid award took place. To comply with this requirement, the RHS will send the surname and county of major prize winners and, if applicable copies of their winning entries, to anyone who emails [email protected] or writes to the address set out in clause 1 (enclosing a self-addressed envelope) within [one] month after the Closing Date of the competition. If you object to any, or all, of your surname, county and winning entry being published or made available, please contact the RHS at [email protected]. In such circumstances, the RHS must still provide the information and winning entry to the Advertising Standards Authority on request
6. Liability
  • To the extent permitted by law, the RHS, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize, except where it is caused by the negligence of the RHS, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected
7. Ownership of competition entries and intellectual property rights
  • For unsuccessful entries/illustrations: the RHS may, but is not required to, make your entry available on its website at www.rhs.org.uk and any other media, whether now known or invented in the future, and in connection with any publicity of the competition and by submitting your competition entry and any accompanying material, you agree to grant the RHS a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable licence, for the full period of any intellectual property rights in the competition entry and any accompanying materials, to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sub-licence the competition entry and any accompanying materials for such purposes
  • For the winning entry/illustrations: By submitting your competition entry and any accompanying material, you agree that the RHS owns the intellectual property rights in your competition entry and you:
    • (a) assign to the RHS all your intellectual property rights with full title guarantee; and
    • (b) waive all moral rights, in and to your competition entry and otherwise arising in connection with your entry to which you may now or at any time in the future be entitled under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended from time to time) and under all similar legislation from time to time in force anywhere in the world
8. Data protection and publicity
  • Unless you have chosen to receive other information from the RHS, your personal data supplied for the competition will be used by the RHS for the purpose of running the competition, including contacting the winner and distributing the prize, and as set out in these terms and conditions regarding the announcement of the winner
  • The personal data of all entrants, except the winner, will be kept for 60 days from the Closing Date and then be deleted. For the winner, the retention period is 140 days
  • Please read our full RHS Privacy Policy to find out more about how we use your personal data and how to exercise your rights under applicable data protection laws
9. General
  • The RHS may void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so
  • These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts

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