Art Inspired by Nature

A glimpse into Bloomsbury Group’s creative garden spaces and how they turned them into ideal muses for a variety of their works.

With their unconventional approach to life, the members of the Bloomsbury group seem to have been born a few generations too early. Safely tucked away in their peaceful countryside pockets during world-war 1, they were living every Gen z and Millennials dream during the 20th Century. Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville and Lady Ottoline, with the help of their other intellectual friends, created their very own living Pinterest boards out of the farmhouses they bought. This blend of the cottagecore aesthetics with their bohemian ideals went on to inspire a lot of their applauded works, including Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.

Wondering where all the magic unfolded? In the gardens of course, where the wings of inspiration could flutter freely from one flower to another.

Here is how these four natural sanctuaries became significant for intellectual, emotional and artistic expression for the Bloomsbury group:

1. Charleston Farmhouse – Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant’s abode

The garden at Charleston Farmhouse, once a simple fruit and vegetable plot, was reborn as a living canvas by Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Vanessa’s daughter recalled it as more painter’s studio than gentleman’s garden—bold colours, box hedges, flower beds, gravel paths and a mosaic-tiled pond.

Entering the house, you feel the garden’s embrace: walls and furniture painted with floral motifs by its inhabitants. The home becomes an extension of the greenery, influencing not only Bell and Grant’s paintings but also the works of every visitor.

“Overlaying View into a Garden” by Vanessa Bell over the doorway to their garden at Charleston. Photograph © The Charleston Trust

2. Monk’s House – Virginia & Leonard Woolf’s retreat

‘You can’t recreate Versailles on a quarter-acre of Sussex’. This advice by Vita Sackville-West was not enough to discourage the Woolfs from designing their very own Italianate garden complete with a pond and an apple orchard.

The sensory imagery from the garden floods not just Woolf’s writing but also her letters to her close ones. Woolf seemed to have done most of her writing in her garden. In that sense, the garden becomes a room of her own. Even her bedroom, which was supposed to be her writing room earlier, looks out in the garden. The pea green walls inside the house further give the impression that one is still in the garden.

Leonard Woolf was the one who tended to the garden while Virginia enjoyed the garden aesthetically. The last sentence in her diary before she died reads, “L. is doing the rhododendrons”. This goes on to show how attached she was to the garden at Monk’s house and how big of a role it played in fuelling her imagination when it came to her writings.

3. Sissinghurst Castle – Vita Sackville-West’s masterpiece

The condition in which Vita initially found the garden at Sissinghurst gave it the look of a cursed castle. But, what she managed to transform it into later, shows her true gardening prowess. Neatly laid out squares bordered with tall bushes, each containing a themed mini garden within it dominates the outdoor space. These neat, closed-off patches of rose gardens, white gardens, cottage garden and herb gardens can be considered botanical rooms in themself.

Vita’s writing too is dominated heavily by her garden, to the extent that in her writings, the garden itself is transformed into a distinct character.

4. Garsington Manor – Lady Ottoline & Philip Morrell’s haven

The Morrells apparently chose to spend more money on erecting statues in their garden than having enough bathrooms in the manor. The couple clearly valued aesthetics over practicality. Lady Ottoline Morrell and Philip Morrell were art patrons who hosted a number of artists at the Garsington Manor during the wars. Their garden inspired the works of each of the artists they hosted.

Here are 4 ways to bring your garden inside your home and your art:

1. Wood slice art

   Wood slice art is the perfect way to combine nature with art to decorate your spaces. Easy to work with and beautiful in appearance, these pieces would be perfect to add a warm cottage core touch to your space. Create your first wood slice piece with Pouls.of.art here.

   

2. Floral texture art

   Texture art allows you to bring the beautiful textures of your favourite flowers alive in front of your eyes. Creating a floral texture art piece and putting it up helps you brighten up your space without the actual commitment of tending to a flower. Not sure about how your skills might translate in this new art form. Join easy-to-follow palettes and petals workshop by Pouls.of.art here.

   

3. A garden journal

   Having a garden journal would surely allow you to feel more connected to your garden. Whether it's sketching your plants, storing dried samples of your plants, creating a care guide for your plants or writing about your favourite plants, you can go as wild as you like in this journal.

   

4. Nature-inspired materials corner

   Have a corner in your space dedicated to all the interesting things you found in the wild. From sea shells, to interesting rocks, to dried flowers and other trinkets, you can use them to decorate any corner of your space.