WHAT?  Private & Public: Finding the Modern British Garden 

WHERE?  The Garden Museum, 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB

WHEN?  Now until 4th June 

WHY GO? To re-engage with nature. Whether you enjoy the sanctuary of your own private garden or seek a public patch of greenery to commune with nature, gardens are pivotal to everyone’s wellbeing. 

They have also been the most enduring creative subject for artists past and present and the interwar years saw a growth in artists planting and painting gardens to escape doom and gloom.

This pleasurable little exhibition looks at paintings of gardens, from land owning aristocrats to small cottage dwellers, and charts the growth and popularity of parks and picnic areas. 

It’s a charming romp through green retreats from famed artists of the era like Eric Ravilious and Evelyn Dunbar, who famously portrayed gardens created by the Women’s Land Army and was commissioned by Country Life to compose their 1930’s monthly Gardeners Diary.

In partnership with fine art dealers Liss Llewellyn who source paintings directly from owners estates and private collections, some paintings can be purchased with all proceeds going towards the Garden Museum’s charitable programmes. 

IN THE KNOW The Garden Museum is also home to the Archive of Garden Design with recorded information on all the leading British garden designers of the 20th and 21st century. 

Celebrated horticulturist Dan Pearson designed the beautiful central sheltered garden that leads through into the award winning Garden cafe.