The Bloomsbury Group: Britain's most stunning bohemian gardens

An exhibition at London's Garden Museum highlights the significant role that nature played in the lives and works of the Bloomsbury Group, a radical creative collective in Britain. Gardens were not just a backdrop but a vital part of the creative process for writers like Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, Woolf's artist sister Vanessa Bell, and arts patron Lady Ottoline Morrell. These gardens were places of sanctuary and experimentation, where they could explore innovative and often radical ideas about creativity, life, and love. Claudia Tobin, the curator of the exhibition, notes that the gardens had a tangible impact on their work. The connection is particularly evident at Charleston, a Sussex farmhouse where Vanessa Bell and her lover Duncan Grant retreated during World War One. The garden was designed by Roger Fry, who incorporated bold colors and simplified abstract designs influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Bell and Grant continued to develop the garden, using it as an outdoor studio and incorporating its elements into their paintings. The garden also served as a safe space for Bell, Grant, and their circle to explore their ideas and relationships. Lady Ottoline Morrell's garden at Garsington Manor was equally vibrant and unconventional. Inspired by the Villa Capponi in Italy, Morrell redesigned the gardens to create a space that was both beautiful and intellectually stimulating. Artists, writers, and intellectuals like Katherine Mansfield, DH Lawrence, and Aldous Huxley were frequent visitors. Virginia Woolf's garden at Monk's House in Rodmell was a much calmer environment. It served as a cherished sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of London. Woolf delighted in weekends of 'no talking,' enjoying the garden's 'green tunnels' without interruption. She and her husband Leonard worked together in the garden, and she often wrote in a small hut in the orchard. The garden was crucial to Woolf, especially during periods of mental health crisis. After her death, her ashes were buried under an elm tree in the garden. Vita Sackville-West's gardens at Sissinghurst Castle are among the most celebrated in England. Unlike Bell, Woolf, and Morrell, Sackville-West was a skilled garden designer as well as a writer. Her gardens were a series of themed 'rooms,' each providing a stunningly beautiful escape from the world. The gardens also inspired her writing, creating a symbiotic relationship between her literary and gardening pursuits. The gardens at Sissinghurst, Charleston, and Monk's House are open to the public, allowing visitors to experience the enchanting spaces that inspired the Bloomsbury Group. The exhibition at London's Garden Museum runs until 29 September 2024.