About Peculiar Botany

Created in 2023 by Rachael Mong-Gonzalez, Peculiar Botany is a boutique collection of botanical wonders and natural curiosities—born from a lifelong fascination with the strange, the rare, and the quietly beautiful.

Rachael’s interest in botany began to take root during her time living abroad in New Zealand and later with family in Florida, where lush, tropical environments offered a natural invitation to explore, collect, and observe. After settling in Texas, that curiosity evolved into something more intentional—shaped by years of gathering antiques, preserved specimens, and objects that blur the line between nature, history, and art.

Peculiar Botany is a curated world devoted to the curious at heart—a place where natural science meets old-world storytelling. From rare plants and preserved insects to vintage oddments and living (or once-living) works of art, each piece is selected not only for its rarity, but for the quiet narrative it carries. These are objects meant to be lingered with—pieces that hold presence, texture, and a sense of discovery.

Rooted in a love for the arcane and the beautiful, Peculiar Botany appeals to collectors, artists, naturalists, and romantics who find charm in the uncommon. Whether you’re building a cabinet of curiosities, sourcing a botanical relic, or simply drawn to the unusual, the collection invites you to explore a world that feels both grounded in nature and touched by something more mysterious.

When she’s not creating, Rachael and her husband own and operate a small craft cocktail bar in San Antonio, Texas—where you’ll most often find her, somewhere between conversation, atmosphere, and a well-made drink.