In conversation with Kate Charlton, Botanical Illustrator & Greeting Card Business Owner

Kate with her beloved Cavapoo.

I first met Kate Charlton at the Christmas Fair at The Talbot Inn in Mells in 2024. Among the bustle of festive stalls, her display stopped me in my tracks: the precision of the brushwork and the honesty of the colours had a quiet confidence that drew me in. We ended up talking at length about her process and the stories behind her designs. I left with an armful of cards — more than fifty in one go — which I gifted to friends in bundles as presents and as notes to others throughout the year.

There was something about Kate’s work that stayed with me. As the seed of Asterion & Co. was just being formed, I remembered her work and added it to my potential collaborators list. I later wrote to tell her so, and it feels entirely right that our paths have since converged again here at The Old Vicarage.

A selection of Kate’s houseplant greeting cards — the Oxalis (top right), with its soft geometry and shifting shades, is a personal favourite.

It’s easy to think of flowers as decorative — pretty things that mark a moment and then fade. But in the hands of botanical illustrator and greeting card designer Kate Charlton, they become something more lasting: an expression of emotion, memory, and connection. Her work captures the subtle intricacy of petals and seed heads with the same sensitivity that once guided her through the emotional rhythms of floristry — weddings, farewells, and everyday gestures of love.

Kate began her career surrounded by flowers, training at McQueen’s, one of the country’s most respected florists. “It was such a great grounding,” she recalls. “You learn how people respond to colour, texture, and seasonality — but how personal flowers are. You see joy, nostalgia, and grief. It’s an incredible opportunity to interact with people openly sharing what they like and don’t like and how this reflects their personality.” Those early experiences taught her the value of teamwork and customer connection — the shared creativity of building something meaningful with others. “When you hand a bride her bouquet and see her face light up, you realise how much emotion is wrapped up in the beauty of nature.”

That deep understanding of how people respond to flowers has stayed with her, shaping both her art and her business. Today, Kate runs a thriving greeting card company, supplying galleries, garden shops and independent retailers across the UK. Each design begins with her fascination with detail — the form of a fritillary petal, the structure of a scabious seed head — rendered in delicate acrylic strokes. “I like you to see the brush marks,” she says. “I want my cards to feel hand-illustrated. Many cards are digital now, but for me, the act of painting is what brings them alive.”

Her success has not come from instinct alone, but from a willingness to listen and adapt — an attribute she credits for the growth of her business. “When I started, I went to retailers with 17 designs. The manager at the Holburne Museum, Bath, gave me some great advice about what customers respond to. I now have more than 50 designs, and I love that evolution. Retailers give me space on their shelves — that’s precious — so I want to make sure the work sells well for them too.”

“Keep Me, Frame Me”, Kate’s cards become mini works of art.

It’s this blend of artistry and acumen that makes Kate so compelling as a collaborator. Her decision to move into cards at all came from listening closely to others. “A shop told me they didn’t have room for prints but would love cards instead — it sparked everything. Later, when I heard that customers were framing my cards, I added ‘Keep Me, Frame Me’ to the back. That made me smile, because that’s exactly what I’d hoped for — that they’d be seen as mini works of art.”

Home, for Kate, is Somerset — a landscape of working fields and changing skies that continues to inspire her every day. “The countryside smell represents working land,” she says. “I love exploring different places, but my home and garden are my peaceful place. It’s where ideas come together.” Her camera roll — she laughs — is filled with “more plants than people.” That attentive eye for texture, movement, and shadow extends even to her portraits of dogs, often painted with floral crowns — a whimsical fusion of her two great loves.

This greeting card range brings a smile to your face.

Like many artists, Kate’s creative path has also been a journey of self-understanding. When her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia, she recognised many of the same traits in herself. “It explained so much,” she says. “It’s not just reading and writing — it’s confidence, short-term memory, and how you process the world. Discovering that has given me permission to stop fighting my weaknesses and focus on what I do well. Painting gives me that sense of control and accomplishment.”

Peace Lily, one of her first paintings, still holds special meaning. “It’s quietly strong and thrives in the right environment — a little like myself,” she smiles. There’s both gentleness and resilience in her words, the same balance that runs through her business — an operation built on care, attention to detail, and an understanding of her audience.

We met at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip, where Kate joined me for a planning session over a home-cooked lunch to finalise her forthcoming Asterion & Co. Christmas Card Course. Between laughter and discussions about paper stock, pigment, and petal shapes, it became clear that her approach to teaching mirrors her art: unhurried, joyful, and grounded in the pleasure of designing something with your own hands.

Her story is one of craftsmanship balanced with quiet confidence — of finding beauty in detail and success in listening to others. It’s also a story about integrity: about staying true to your creative instincts while building a business that works.

You can join Kate Charlton at The Old Vicarage this December to create your own hand-painted Christmas cards, inspired by her botanical designs. Spaces are limited, but the warmth of her teaching — and the camaraderie it inspires — will last long after the paint has dried.

Kate’s workspace in her Somerset home.