Three garden-themed exhibitions to visit this Summer

Cool art and inspiring horticulture? Count us in.

A silver reflective sculpture of an orchid is surrounded by plants in a large greenhouse.

For a slice of culture this Summer, look no further than these three exhibitions that put both beautiful gardens and creative thinking front and centre. Take your pick from outdoor sculpture displays to art exhibits focused on the power of green spaces to influence and inspire.

‘Marc Quinn: Light into Life’, Kew Gardens, London

A woman is standing in a greenhouse, looking up and smiling at a large bronze sculpture of a tree.

Just down the road from our west London office, Kew Gardens is always a treat to visit in Summer. This year, there’s even more to look at as contemporary artist Marc Quinn hosts an exhibition dedicated to sculpture. Inspired by the links between nature and humanity, as well as the plants and flowers growing in the gardens, the exhibits include 17 stainless steel and bronze sculptures. They’re dotted throughout the gardens, so you can enjoy the natural world at the same time as the art that it inspired. Until 29th September, £22, kew.org

‘Antony Gormley: Time Horizon’, Houghton Hall, Norfolk

A large stately home and its grounds are pictured on a sunny day. A series of bronze figures are arranged on the grass.

Across the grounds of Norfolk’s Houghton Hall, sculptor Antony Gormley has scattered 100 life-size statues. They’ve been installed using the same datum level, which means that they all stand at exactly the same height, even if the grounds don’t. The result sees some statues standing on plinths and others buried shoulder deep in the ground. The sculptures are spread across 300 acres of park, with the furthest away being 1.5 miles from Houghton Hall. Time to get those steps in. Until 31st October, £22, houghtonhall.com

‘Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors’, Garden Museum, London

A painting shows a chair looking angled to look out of a door into a garden.

A painting shows a garden in bloom, with a pathway going down the centre of two flower beds.

Gardens are springboards for creativity, as proved by this exhibition at The Garden Museum. Spotlighting four extraordinary women and the green spaces they surrounded themselves with, it’s the first exhibition to explore the gardens of the fabled Bloomsbury Set. Following the lives and work of Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Lady Ottoline Morell and Vita Sackville-West, the exhibition shares how their gardens became both spaces of sanctuary and catalysts for creative experiment. 29th September, £15, gardenmuseum.org

Feeling inspired? Explore our collection of outdoor plants and pots to bring your own garden, balcony or patio to life, or shop our outdoor edit below.