A vibrant container garden with teal raised planters spelling 'HELLO ST IVES', an orange wall, terracotta-effect paving, and colourful mixed flowers.
Container Garden Bronze Medal

The Seasalt Painted Garden

Designed by Lynn James
Photo: GardensDB
About this garden

The story

The garden draws inspiration from the mid-century modernist artists of the St Ives School, a renowned group that included Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon, Patrick Heron, and Bernard Leach - figures whose influence endures to this day. The St Ives School artists broke from traditional realism, pioneering nature-based abstraction and turning a Cornish fishing village into a hub of modern art in the 1950s and 60s. This garden reimagines their bold creativity in a contemporary setting.

Set within a courtyard adjoining an artist's studio, the garden combines bold colour with imaginative use of recycled materials. Used filing cabinets are repurposed as plant containers, reflecting the artists' ingenuity and resourcefulness during wartime shortages. While celebrating the legacy of mid-century creativity, the garden also looks forward, featuring a newly commissioned sculpture that offers a fresh expression of contemporary art - bridging past inspiration with present-day innovation.

Award

Recognition

The people behind it

Designer

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Photography

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Planting

Plant list

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Key Plants 4

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