Garden Museum

07/07/2023

Jean Cooke painted ‘Hortus Siccus’ indoors over a single weekend in 1967. When she submitted it to the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, she wrote on the back ‘Very Wet’, as an instruction to the art handlers.

Jean said of this painting: ‘It’s very much an indoor painting; the idea was to use various images to make up a whole…. All the plants were in the garden, so I associated them with it and felt for them in the garden. To paint something, I have to feel for it in some way.’

🗓️ Jean Cooke: Ungardening is open now until 10 September
🎟️ Friends go free!
🔗 Book your visit: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/jean-cooke-ungardening/

Image: Hortus Siccus (1967), oil on canvas, Jean Cooke © Estate of Jean Cooke, courtesy of Piano Nobile, London

14/06/2023

One week to go till Jean Cooke: Ungardening 🌾 https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/jean-cooke-ungardening/

This summer discover the first exhibition to celebrate the magnificent garden paintings of Jean Esme Oregon Cooke RA (1927-2008).

Cooke was not a conventional gardener, once listing “ungardening” as her hobby in Who’s Who, and preferring to leave nature to its own devices. But her wild, overgrown gardens provided much solace and artistic inspiration.

In this painting Toujours en Fête (1969), Jean depicts herself with her three sons among an oceanic cliff top meadow of tendrils, grasses and flowers. Look closely to see delicately painted nasturtiums, cyclamen and ox-eye daisies.

🗓️ 21 June - 10 September�

🌾 Jean Cooke: Ungardening is curated by Andrew Lambirth

Image: Toujours en Fête (1969), oil on canvas, Jean Cooke © Estate of Jean Cooke, courtesy of Piano Nobile, London

06/06/2023

We have your balmy summer Friday evening plans sorted this week with our Late!

🌻 Pick up a drink, get lost among this year’s immersive floral installations and discover activities celebrating budding new growth, changing seasons and an optimistic step forward for the floral industry.

🌼 Five of the country’s top florists - Botanical Tales, Lucy Vail Floristry, mahalkitaflowers, SAGE Flowers, and Yinari – are creating installations exploring 🌱New Beginnings 🌱 using seasonal, sustainably-sourced, British-grown flowers, arranged with environmentally friendly materials.

🌺 Plus craft paper blossoms, browse for floral inspiration in our Archive of Garden Design, all accompanied by live music gently streaming out from our courtyard garden.

🗓️ Friday 9 June, 6.30pm - 8.30pm: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/british-flowers-week-late/

24/05/2023

🏅Congratulations to Sarah Price for winning a Gold Medal for The Nurture Landscapes Garden yesterday!

👀 Here are a few delicious details of the garden at the Chelsea Flower Show inspired by Cedric Morris’ plantsman’s paradise at Benton End.

🌾 Want to hear Sarah tell all about her design inspirations and process? Tonight she’ll be giving a talk at the Museum in conversation with Ben and Loretta Boscence of Local Works Studio, who worked with Sarah to create a palette of textures for the garden in pots, vessels, bricks, and surfaces using transformed waste materials.

🎟️ In-person tickets are sold out, but the livestream is still available! Either watch online live or enjoy the recording at a later time that suits you.

🗓️ Weds 24 May, 7pm. Book tickets: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/talk-sarah-price-chelsea-flower-show/

Photos courtesy of Crocus.co.uk

10/05/2023

🧵Cecilia Charlton: Memory Garden is open now!

🌸 The site-specific weavings inspired by memories of garden flowers will be on display in our historic nave space until Sunday, with free entry as part of London Craft Week.

🪡 And there’s more! Cecilia will be hosting a free bargello embroidery workshop this Thursday for our Branch Out programme.

Join us to create your own small piece of embroidery to take home, and contribute to a communal piece of art exploring the natural world on a large embroidery frame.

🗓️ Thursday 11 May, 12pm - 2pm
Free drop-in, on a first come first served basis

🔗Find out more: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/branch-out-london-craft-week-bargello-embroidery-workshop-2/

Photo by Ben Deakin

02/05/2023

“The artworks I created are all inspired by flowers that have personal relevance to me, primarily flowers that have distinctive aromas. So within each artwork is the memory of the flower as well as the memories that were imbued into the textile during the act of making.”

Ahead of Cecilia Charlton's new installation ‘Memory Garden’ opening next Mon 8 May, we asked the textile artist a few questions about the ancient practice of weaving, what inspires her work, and what to expect from her textile wall hangings taking over our Nave space for London Craft Week.

🔗 Read the full interview: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/london-craft-week-cecilia-charlton-memory-garden/

🗓️ Cecilia Charlton: Memory Garden is open 8-14 May.



Photos Felix Speller

27/04/2023

📣 Visions of Welfare Conference

We’re pleased to be hosting part of this international conference discussing the role of women in the creation of the spaces of the post-war Welfare States.

Across a day of talks both in person and online, presentations will explore who forms a built environment and celebrate the diversity of women’s practices.

Co-hosted by Women of the Welfare Landscape, the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, and the Women in Danish Architecture project.

🔗 Mon 15 May, book tickets: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/conference-visions-of-welfare-2023/

Image: Design offices of the Ministry of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, Budapest (1957) (c) Martin Kurutz, Fortepan

24/04/2023

📣 New talk! Ideas for a Greener London | 4 May

How would you envision a brighter, better and greener future for the city?

Inspired by the work of writer, urban theorist, and activist Jane Jacobs, this evening chaired by Evan Davis will see our speakers will pitch their ideas for five minutes each. The stellar line-up includes Tayshan Hayden-Smith, Mary Duggan, Oli Mould, Alex Arestis, Mayman Arefin among others.

🗓️ Join us Thursday 4 May, 7pm. Either attend in person or watch online: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/talk-ideas-for-a-greener-london-4-05-23/

Photo: wildflower meadow in Old Paradise Gardens, planted by local residents with the Garden Museum garden team. Photo by Matt Collins.

12/04/2023

Don’t miss GreatDixter Nursery among our Spring Plant Fair stalls this Sunday! The team will be bringing a selection of garden plants grown at Great Dixter House and Gardens on-site nursery, a rare opportunity to buy these plants in London.

The Nursery was started by Christopher Lloyd in 1954, specialising in plants he deemed garden-worthy. They remain a small, personal and professional nursery.

🌱 The Spring Plant Fair is open 10am-4pm this Sunday 16 April. Tickets are £5 standard, £4 Friends. Morning slot tickets are almost sold-out so book online now!

🔗 Book tickets: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/spring-plant-fair-2023/

11/04/2023

📣 British Flowers Week is back this summer! Our annual BFW exhibition champions British-grown flowers, sustainable floristry and the immense talent in floral design found across the country.

We've hand-picked five of the most exciting florists working in Britain today to build immersive floral installations around the museum on the theme 'New Beginnings'.

And we are thrilled to reveal this year's line-up!

🌻Botanical Tales
🌻 Lucy Vail Floristry
🌻 Mahal Kita Flowers�
🌻 SAGE Flowers
🌻 Yinari

The week will also include a Friday Late and a panel discussion with the florists hosted by Shane Connolly and Company.

💐Join us 8-12 June, find out more about this year's florists and book your visit on our website now: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/british-flowers-week-2023/

03/04/2023

✨Branch Out: free events and activities every Thursday at the Garden Museum!

Thanks to funding from Arts Council England, we’re excited to be launching a new programme exploring gardening, art, floristry, plant science, history, design and more, and best of all, it’s FREE!

No need to book, just show up! See the full programme: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/branchout/

Thank you to Arts Council England for making Branch Out possible 🙌
Design by Han Valentine

24/03/2023

🌿 Plant of the Week: Fritillaria verticillata

Head Gardener Matt Collins ✍️

“As anyone who follows my Instagram account will know, my fixation with fritillaries began in earnest while living at Benton End in Suffolk, where the appearance of various species once grown by Cedric Morris still appear sporadically in the rough grass. Going out in the dewy spring mornings to spot dainty, elegant and sometimes curious fritillaries half hidden in the walled garden there — during the strange quiet of the pandemic — will forever remain one of my most favourite gardening experiences. Not least as it tuned my eye to the nuances and natural appeal of species bulbs more generally.

This week, while the cold weather creeps on into spring, stinging hands and stiffening boots, I have rejoiced at the indifference shown by our clumps of Fritillaria verticillata — a completely magnetising species fritillary from Japan whose multi-headed, cream-white blooms appear to have almost doubled in spread and size since last year, despite the chill temperatures.

Planted in the Museum courtyard as a little drift last April, I staked the emerging shoots this winter with little berberis prunings (sturdily pronged and advantageously sharp), to give its slender, tendril-clad stems something to cling to. Here at the damper, partially sunny end of the garden they have now risen to well above two feet, dangling as many as five flowers each: qualities that make verticillata (which means ‘whorled’, in reference to the arrangement of its leaves around the stem) a fantastic garden plant for spring.

And if the height, floral abundance and butterfly antennae-like tendrils weren’t captivating enough, you lift the little pendent heads to reveal an exquisite, blood-red crosshatch beneath the petals. If you’re visiting the museum, I encourage you to wander out and look.”

22/03/2023

📣 Open now! Private & Public: Finding the Modern British Garden

Why did so many artists retreat to painting and planting in their gardens between the two wars? And why was there such a flourishing interest in exploring parks and public green spaces?

Discover intimate depictions of garden sanctuaries, greenhouses, pockets of green in the city, and favourite plant specimens by Modern British artists including Evelyn Dunbar, Charles Mahoney, Eric Ravilious and many more.

🗓️ Open till 4 June, and the works are available for purchase in aid of our education and community programmes.

Book your visit: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/private-and-public-finding-the-modern-british-garden/

Presented in partnership with Liss Llewellyn

Image: Gilbert Spencer (1892-1979), The Balcony c.1928, image courtesy of Liss Llewellyn

20/03/2023

Joy Larkcom: The Queen of Vegetables 🥬🥦🥕

Ever bought a bag of mixed baby salad leaves in the supermarket? You’ve got Joy to thank for that!

Vegetable growing pioneer and writer Joy Larkcom is affectionately known by many as ‘The Queen of Vegetables’, as she introduced so many varieties to the UK which we know and love today. These include Lollo Rosso lettuce, Chioggia beetroot, and Perella lettuce, which she first encountered on her “Grand Vegetable Tour” around Europe in 1976.

Her most well-known contribution is the introduction of the cut-and-come-again harvesting method, which provides the ‘baby leaves’ in bags which are so ubiquitous in supermarkets today.

Joy also had a fascination with Chinese vegetables, experimenting with them in her own garden for many years before visiting China, Japan, and Taiwan on research trips in the 1980s.

In a new display in the museum, we’ve delved into Joy’s personal archives (which are held at the Garden Museum) for highlights from her Asian vegetable research, including photographs, correspondence, research notes, gardening tools and seed catalogues.

🗓️ On display until 23 May: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/joy-larkcom-the-queen-of-vegetables/

07/03/2023

Plant of the Week: "Ming fern" (Asparagus retrofractus)

Head Gardener Matt Collins✍️

“Without question, asparagus ferns are among the big hitters of the houseplant resurgence of this last decade — South African members of the Asparagus genus, whose bold yet delicate fern-like foliage stretches, twines and creeps through living-rooms the country over.

Chief among them is Asparagus setaceus, the common asparagus fern, which, despite its ubiquitousness remains popular for more than a few good reasons: unfussy and super easy to grow (or, hard to kill, depending on your take); excellent figure, effortlessly chic etc.

But the real gem, for me, is A. retrofractus — the ‘Ming fern’ — a less compliant yet totally captivating species with the star quality of silver-white stems and a springtime flush of acid-green foliage.

I acquired our retrofractus at one of the first Houseplant Festivals held at the Museum, advised by the seller that the seasonal contrast between its new and old needle-like leaves is something quite spectacular, which it is. This might have been about four years ago, and since then the plant has been bumped up and up pot sizes until at last filling the largest terracotta we have to offer it.

Repotting just before Christmas, I tied the stronger of its attractive though viciously thorn-clad stems to a discrete stake, and folded in the other stems to form a kind of lifted bird’s nest structure. Under the pressure of continued rapid growth, the ‘nest’ is already falling over itself, but the effect is just lovely: a tumbledown, feathery creature with a bright skeleton of questing branches.”

15/02/2023

NEW EXHIBITION! 🌿 Private & Public: Finding the Modern British Garden

Open 22 March – 4 June, our next exhibition will bring together a verdant collection of paintings celebrating private garden sanctuaries and public green spaces.

Discover intimate depictions of gardens, greenhouses, parks, city squares and favoured plant specimens by Modern British artists including Charles Mahoney, Evelyn Dunbar, Eric Ravilious and Ithell Colquhoun.

This exhibition is presented in partnership with , and the works will be available for purchase in aid of our education and community programmes.

🔗 Book your visit: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/private-and-public-finding-the-modern-british-garden/

🖼️ Evelyn Dunbar (1906-1960), Conservatory at the Cedars, image courtesy of Liss Llewellyn

14/02/2023

Happy Valentine’s Day! 🥰 If you’re not sure what sweet nothings to write in your beloved’s card this year, please peruse this 1920s postcard ‘The Language of Vegetables & Fruit’ for some romantic ideas 💕🧅

13/02/2023

📣 GARDEN VISITS 2023 🌿 bookings open now!

Our Garden Visits programme takes us to some of the country's most exquisite and inspiring gardens, with insightful guided tours by owners, designers and experts.

This year’s visits include Lucy Vail Floristry's sustainable flower farm in Suffolk, a fascinating private tour of The Newt in Somerset, John Little’s magical wildlife friendly Grass Roof Company garden, and more delightful private gardens from Cheshire to Oxfordshire!

Our Garden Visits programme is organised by a committee of volunteers who donate their time and expertise to raise funds for the Museum.

See all visits and get booking: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/?_facet_event_categories=garden-visits

📸

1. The Lodge, Oxfordshire © Clive Nichols
2. John Little’s garden, Essex © Sarah Cuttle
3. Amanda and Lucy Vail © Mark Crick

08/02/2023

🌿 Plant of the Week: Iris reticulata ‘Blue Note’

Head Gardener Matt Collins✍️

“The flowering of little reticulata irises in our courtyard pots is, for me, the kick-off for spring. There may be frosts still to come, and even the risk of snow later this month, regardless, their striking petals and magnetising falls are an irreversible vernal signal of winter losing its grip. So it feels the appropriate choice for the first ‘Plant of the Week’ of 2023.

Trialling and testing bulb species and cultivars in containers — to complement the lush courtyard planting as it charges upwards once again — is one of my many joys gardening at the Museum. Typically, our big bulb period is mid-March through early May, as I tend to favour later-flowering options like ornithogalum, allium and species tulip. This means that our early reticulata irises flower somewhat isolated and alone (bar a few snowdrops), in 7-10 little pots dotted around the garden. But I wouldn’t be without this very beautiful February exception: the reticulatas have their energising moment, they break the winter gloom, and then disappear before the true spring rush.

We pot up our bulbs in mid or late November but no sooner; too early only risks rot and unnecessary squirrel exposure. Under the courtyard walkway a mess is made of compost, grit and bark chips as we empty old containers and mix and prepare new soils for new bulbs, and those saved and stored from the previous spring.

Planting combinations are only decided on the day: it’s an exercise in creative and practical planning that I enjoy undertaking with our Horticultural Trainee (this year, Caroline Cathcart, pictured). Varieties most likely to invite Lambeth’s squirrel population over the wall — in particular, tulips and croci — are topped with stems of holly, which seems to offer enough protection when bolstered with an inch or two’s topping of grit (we remove the holly around now, once shoots have surfaced). The irises, however, develop under the additional precaution of a crate topped with perspex… they’re worth the extra trouble!”

31/01/2023

Happy Birthday to Derek Jarman, who would have been 81 today.

Our 2020 exhibition ‘My garden’s boundaries are the horizon’ explored his love of gardening, and the garden he created at Dungeness.

Jarman acquired Prospect Cottage, a fisherman’s shack on the shingle, for £32,000, when he came across a ‘For Sale’ sign while filming on the beach with Tilda Swinton. Having been diagnosed with HIV in 1986, he resolved ‘to get as much out of life as possible’ and started creating a garden.

A garden without a boundary, Jarman’s garden stands beside a nuclear power station: the shingles, wind and salt from the sea provide an extreme version of the ‘right plant, right place’ garden philosophy. It evokes an uplifting sense that if a garden can be made here, it can be made anywhere.

Photos © Howard Sooley

25/01/2023

SOW, GROW, EAT 🌿🧑‍🌾🧑‍🍳🍅 we’re launching a new FREE programme for teenagers aged 13-17 to dip a toe in the career of a gardener, food grower or chef!

Participants will learn sowing, planting and gardening skills in our greenhouse and gardens. Then in our learning kitchen we'll do hands-on cooking sessions using some of the produce grown throughout the year.

No prior experience necessary, just an enthusiasm for plants!

The programme runs one Saturday a month for ten months. Find out more and apply: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/sowgroweat/

Deadline for applications is Monday 13 February.

23/01/2023

📣 GARDEN MUSEUM LITERARY FESTIVAL 2023 – PARHAM HOUSE

We are delighted to announce this year’s venue is Parham House in West Sussex, one of the country’s finest Elizabethan houses set at the foot of the South Downs.

Join us 23-24 June, hosted by Lady Emma Barnard and her husband, James.

📚 The festival will include talks by some of the UK’s most influential and award-winning garden designers and authors, as well as opportunities to explore the magnificent historic gardens and house.

Book tickets: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/events/garden-museum-literary-festival-2023/

Photo by Elizabeth Zeschin

09/01/2023

Lucian Freud: Wasteground, Paddington (1970)

Would you call this a garden painting?

Wasteground, Paddington (1970) depicts a view from the window at 227 Gloucester Terrace in London which was far from bucolic. Painted when Lucian Freud was in his late 40s, this abandoned garden in Paddington—then a rundown and densely populated area just north of Hyde Park—captures a story of human and plant resilience.

Not been to see yet? The exhibition is still open till 5 March!
🎟Friends go free
🔗Book your visit: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/lucian-freud-plant-portraits/

Digital partner Patch plants