Garden Futures

Garden Futures

The garden is back in the spotlight, not only as an idyllic retreat, but also as a testing ground for new ideas and experiments in biodiversity, social justice and a sustainable future. Garden Futures was previously on show at the Vitra Design Museum.

Personal gardens

Garden Futures features gardens by designers and artists including Roberto Burle Marx, Jamaica Kincaid, Mien Ruys, Piet Oudolf and Derek Jarman. Landscape designer Burle Marx’s garden grew into an experimental landscape laboratory where he played with volume, colour, texture and perspective. For Antiguan writer Jamaica Kincaid, her garden in Vermont, USA, has been a place of connection with her own history and memories for 30 years. Filmmaker Derek Jarman cherished his garden on the inhospitable Kentish coast in the face of his own mortality at the height of the AIDS crisis.

Political gardens

But gardens are not always an expression of our personal preferences or motivations – they have also been shaped by political or commercial interests. Take the colonial trade that introduced us to tropical plants in the 19th century, or the vegetable garden as a form of self-sufficiency and food security in times of war and scarcity. The exhibition also shows how our tastes have adapted to the beautiful promises made by manufacturers of garden tools, fertilisers and patio furniture.

Sustainable gardens

Today, the garden is increasingly seen as part of an ecological system rather than a demarcated piece of land. This has led to much experimentation with alternative, sustainable garden concepts. The exhibition includes examples of conservatories, vertical forests, community gardens, floating gardens, school gardens, rooftop greenhouses, food forests, urban farms and forest gardens.