Gardens of Inspiration
The green spaces that provided both passion and a pastime for some of the world’s greatest artists
The gardens of famous artists connect their work with nature.
Go on a pilgrimage to a garden made by an artist and you’ll get a sense of that person and their inspirations. The choice of plants and landscaping reveals much about their life and what drove their creativity. Gardens like Frida Kahlo’s in Mexico are integral to the house, which is as it was when she died and feels like she might open the door and stand beside you at any moment.
CLAUDE MONET
Giverny, France Monet diverted a stream and dug a pond to create this ethereal landscape of water lilies, weeping willow and wisteria. The scene with its curved Japanese bridge was the subject of some of Monet’s bestknown and most-loved paintings, and visitors can stand where he once did and try to see it through his eyes. The rest of the garden, the house and studio complete the picture. See Giverny.org
THE BLOOMSBURY GROUP
Charleston, Sussex, England
Many Bloomsbury acolytes visit this farmhouse near Firle to immerse themselves in the artistic household and to see their colourful and exuberant ceramics, textiles and paintings first hand. The cottage garden, created by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, has wide borders filled to the brim with beautiful blooms, interspersed with sculpture, and is equally revealing. See Charleston.org.uk
FRIDA KAHLO Caza Azul, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico
The central courtyard of the house with its vivid blue walls, where Frida Kahlo was born and where she died, is filled with luxuriant indigenous plants. Cacti, apricot and pomegranate trees, and spiky agave plants sit beside Mexican folk artefacts and an Aztec pyramid designed by her husband Diego Rivera. All of these elements reflect the character and style of this influential and troubled artist.
A true place of pilgrimage. See museofridakahlo.org.mx
IAN HAMILTON FINLAY Little Sparta, Pentland Hills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Two hectares of exposed moorland were turned into an outdoor exhibition of 270 artworks by Ian Hamilton Finlay, including his own concrete poetry and work by other artists and craftsmen. He also built two temples from outbuildings and a pool with a fountain. The result is like a physical manifestation of his creative mind. It’s best to visit in June, July and August when trees and plants – designed to be integral to the work – look their best. See littlesparta.org.uk
SALVADOR DALÍ Dalí Museum- House, Portlligat, Catalonia, Spain
For over 50 years Dalí lived on and off in what had originally been a fishing hut. The house, now a museum, was extended by Dalí into labyrinthine corridors and rooms with windows of all shapes and sizes. The focus of the garden is a penis-shaped pool around which are giant Pirelli-tyre signs, huge stone eggs and a sofa in the shape of a pair of pink lips. Standard surrealist stuff, really. See Salvador-dali.org
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE O’Keeffe Museum, Abiquiu, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
The modernist artist installed large windows into the adobe house where she lived and worked so that she could have a connection with the expansive landscape all around. Beyond the thick terracotta walls of the house, her garden was sparse yet productive: there was an apple tree and a vegetable plot. She said that she was surprised to find “what a warming difference [a garden] can make in one’s life”. See okeeffemuseum.org
HENRY MOORE Hoglands, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, England
The British sculptor lived here with his wife Irina and their daughter from 1940 until his death in 1986. As he grew better known and his work fetched higher prices, he bought more of the land around the house. The resulting 28 hectares provided the perfect setting for some of his iconic bronze sculptures. Smaller pieces are displayed in his former studios. See henry-moore.org