For her 2021 exhibition at the Garden Museum, photographer Kate Friend approached notable creatives and public figures: people whose work she respected and people she wanted to meet. Kate asked them to pick a single flower or plant for her to photograph. Kate chose the people, they chose the flowers. From Isabella Tree’s Ragwort to Cosey Fanni Tutti’s Euphorbia, the flowers that people chose spoke of them.

Kate says: “Each flower or plant in this series was photographed at the subject’s home, studio or garden. I asked each subject if they had a particular flower or plant they liked. They didn’t have to tell me why, although often they did. Sometimes a plant reminded them of someone or some time. Sometimes it was an evocative colour or smell. Sometimes a pleasing form or cycle of life. I only took portraits of flowers. Never people.”