About the school
A slow practice, by the seasons
MOD Education makes recorded botanical drawing and painting courses, organised around what is growing in a British garden right now.
Why botanical drawing
Drawing is a way of looking
You can walk past a hellebore for years. Draw one for an hour and you will know how many stamens it has, which way the petals overlap and where the speckles stop.
Botanical drawing asks for accuracy rather than flair: measure, look again, draw what is there. That makes it unusually learnable. It rewards patience more than talent, and the progress is visible on the page.
It is also a practice that comes to you. A single stem on a kitchen table is enough.
Why the seasons
Draw what is in front of you this month
We are in Kent, the Garden of England: orchards, hop gardens, chalk downs, hedgerows and allotments. The plants we film are the ones you can find in a British garden at the same time of year, so the course arrives when the subject does.
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Winter
December – February
Hedgerows after the leaves fall. Bare twigs, buds and evergreens: structure without distraction.
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Spring
February – May
Woodland edges and bulb borders. Bulbs and first flowers, drawn before they go over.
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Summer
June – August
Cottage gardens and allotments. Full flowers, colour and the long evenings to paint them.
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Autumn
September – November
Field margins, orchards and verges. Fruit, seed heads and the colours of a turning leaf.
How the courses are made
A desk by a window, a real plant, in season
- The desk
- Every lesson is filmed at a drawing desk by a window, with the camera directly above the paper.
- The plant
- Real specimens, not photographs: picked from the garden, bought from a florist or found on a walk, and drawn while they are fresh.
- The timing
- Seasonal lessons are filmed in their season, so the snowdrop in the video looks like the one outside your door.
- The speed
- The drawing is filmed in real time, so you see how long each stage really takes, stroke by stroke.
Who it is for
Adults who want to draw slowly
You have not drawn since school. Start with measuring and tone in graphite; nothing is assumed.
You draw already and want colour, ink or a proper dissection sheet, one plant at a time.
You paint, and want the finishing work: drybrush detail, a cupped rose, a composed plate.
Anyone who needs a tutor to mark their work, a live class or a certificate. We do not offer those.
The company
A small school in Swanley, Kent
MOD Education is run by MOD Education Services Ltd, a small UK company based in Swanley, Kent, set up in 2025. We make the courses, answer the chat and send your access ourselves.
There are 12 courses so far, from first marks in graphite to a finished botanical plate.