Trewyn Studio, located on Barnoon Hill in St Ives, Cornwall, serves as the former home and studio of renowned British sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth. She purchased the site in 1949 and lived there until her death in 1975. The studio has been preserved much as it was during her lifetime, showcasing her artistic process and personal belongings. The studio includes the sculpture garden with over 30 of her sculptures set amidst, an oasis of winding paths and plant life.
The Barbara Hepworth Sculpture garden is a joy to explore. You enter through the live-work space of the studio, arriving in the walled garden where the sculptures start to catch your eye from a distance as they emerge from the foliage. The detail and setting of each work maintains your curiosity which draws you through the garden. Each work is tucked into position with the plants used as a backdrop and border between the works, this natural setting is a constant but casual reminder of the works conversation with elemental forms in nature.
The planting is sub tropical, the special temperate climate in Cornwall allows for unique variety and vigour from the plants in the garden. The light in Cornwall is famously special, it continues to attract artists to the area. This all adds to the otherworldliness giving a context to view the sculptures that allow the viewer to see the forms in a fresh light as if arriving from an alien planet, discovering and contemplating Hepworth's forms afresh.
The plants appear to be chosen specifically for their informal nature to allow the sculpture to punctuate the presentation and not be dominated by any formality in the planting. The planting scheme is designed to appear "accidental". The plants themselves though background are beautiful in themselves preparing and inviting the viewer to contemplate the variety of natural forms. The fantastic thing about the book Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden is that it shows just how densely planted the garden is with over 70 plants identified. Perhaps this density is part of the rhythm of change purposely arranged to prepare the viewer with an expectation to view new form and pattern at each step as you walk through.
The spaces and the workshop are stripped back, functional with very simple, direct materials and tools. Trewyn Studios preserve a unique modernist aesthetic that emphasizes simplicity and clarity, showcasing the natural beauty of materials and structural forms while appreciating the distinctiveness and authenticity of the found objects and the environment of St Ives. While it was a leap, for me, this struck a chord with one of Hepworth's final artworks, Single Form, situated in the modernist courtyard of the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Single Form is a deliberately subtle piece that serves as a gentle reminder that the world is comprised of individuals who, I trust, may have left many visiting dignitaries feeling grounded, if not humbled.
The natural informality and curiosity sparked by the selection of plants intrigued me. As a result, I decided to compile a list of plants to serve as a design aid, offering a comprehensive selection for landscaping a medium-sized walled garden. I began by utilizing the RHS app to identify numerous plants, which are detailed below.
1, Aeonium arboreum, houseleek tree
2, Chaenomeles speciosa, japanese quince
3, Cotinus obovatus, chittamwood
4, Echium pininana, giant viper's bugloss
5, Euonymous japonicus, evergreen spindle
6, Euphorbia characian, Mediterranean spurge
7, Euphorbia mellifera, canary spurge
8, Fuchsia microphylla, small leaved fuchsia
9, Galium odoratum, sweet woodruff
10, Hibiscus mutabilis, confederate rose
11, Libertia chilensis, New Zealand satin flower
12, Lonicera fragrantissima, winter-flowering honeysuckle
13, Mahonia bealei, Beal's mahonia
14, Olearia macrodonta, New Zealand holly
15, Pittosporum tenuifolium, tawhiwhi
16, Teucrium fruticans, tree germander
17, Viburnum cinnamomifolium, cinnamon-leaved viburnum
18, Viburnum tinus, laurustinus
19, Martin's Spurge, Euphorbia x martini
20, Redvein Chinese lantern, Callianthe picta
21, David Viburnum, Viburnum davidi
22, Wrinkle Viburnum, Viburnum rugosum
Subsequently I found the Tate publication Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden by Chris Stephens, Miranda Phillips and Jodi Dickinson. This book identifies over 70 plants which I have listed below in the order they appear in the book. Nearly all of the plants identified in this book are also visually represented by one of the 68 thumbnail images below. Not all the images will be exact matches as accuracy is limited here by the available listings on the RHS application.
1, Lemon Scented Pelargoniums,
2, Crassulas (Jade Plants),
3, Sempervivum (house leeks),
4, Bourgainvillea White,
5, Plumbago auriculata f.alba (White Cape Leadwort),
6, Heliotrope, The scents of which Hepworth recalled in her letters
7, > Sourcebook for HepworthWill Arnold - Shrubs for the Milder Counties,
8, Hepworth went to see the sub tropical planting in the Isles of Scilly,
9, Hepworth's shopping lists for plants were found in her copies of Shrubs for the Milder Counties
10, Dracaena, Trees already present
11, Copper Beech, Trees already present
12, Holly, Trees already present
13, Pear Trees, Trees already present
14, Elm, Trees already present
15, Deciduous trees to be planted at the border to the public street,
16, Hoheria sexstylosa,
17, Myrtus Luma,
18, Rowan Tree,
19, Magnolia Grandiflora,
20, Mimosa Pudica,
21, Eucalyptus,
22, Magnolia stellata,
23, Chusan Fan Plant (Trachycarpus fortunei),
24, Fatsia japonica Japanese aralia,
25, Hibiscus, x2 varieties
26, Bay Tree,
27, New Zealand Satin Flower (Libertia Grandiflora),
28, Euonymus japonicus,
29, Honeysuckle, x2 varieties
30, Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos),
31, Daisy Ultramarine,
32, Daisy Purple,
33, Pericallis Hybrida Stellata (florists cineraria), feature frequently in the photos taken of the garden
34, Scented Roses,
35, Tall Blue Agapanthus,
36, Spotted laurel (Aucuba japonica),
37, Pittosporum tobira 'Nanum',
38, Berberis, varieties
39, Plumbago Indica (Cerise), in the greenhouse
40, Bougainvillea, in the greenhouse
41, Agave, in the greenhouse
42, Aloe, Various, in the greenhouse
43, Cacti, in the greenhouse
44, Bamboo black,
45, Stately white tulips, considered too formal for Hepworths natural garden and removed
46, White Japanese Anemone × hybrida,
47, Chionodoxa 'Alba' "Glory of the snow" white trumpets, amoung sprays of Crocosima vibrant orange
48, Crocosima vibrant orange,
49, arum italicum italian lords-and-ladies,
50, The exceptionally cold winter of 1987 kills the two Hoheria sexstylosa and cordilines, phormiums
51, Cordylines,
52, Phormiums,
53, Posthumous gardener Anderson only added planmts that maintained the mood of the garden - imformal, natural and relaxed rather than clipped and regimented, prefferred natural control of pests in place of chemical methods,
54, Hepworth was keen to attract wildlife, nest boxes were installed,
55, Salvia microphylla baby sage, Hummingbird moths visit in September to feed on Salvia microphylla
56, Trewythian garden was the Tate's first venture outside of London,
57, Palms Cordyline australis, cabbage palm, Palms Cordyline australis died under the shade of matured trees so replaced with more shade tollerant Chusan Palm
58, Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei),
59, Narcissus Thalia, white daffodil with sweet fragrance,
60, The piece Four-Square (Walk Through) 1066 replaced a rose bed,
61, Chaenomeles japonica japanese quince,
62, Japanese camellia common camellia,
63, Prunus 'Accolade' Tree, Flowering Cherry Trees,
64, Geraniuim Madurense, giant herb robert,
65, Argeranthemum frutescens marguerite,
66, Jasminum Polyanthum,
67, Teucrium fruticans, tree germander,
68, Brugmansia suaveolens, angels trumpets, Indoor, poisenous
69, Zantedeschia aethiopica, crowborough arum lily,
70, Astilbe rivularis, waterside astilbe,
71, bougainvillea glabra,
72, Crinum × powellii, swamp lily,
73, Philadelphus coronarius, common mock orange,
74, Yucca gloriosa, Spanish dagger,
75, Floribunda roses,
76, Pelargonium,
77, Mahonia Japonica,
78, Hibiscus syriacus, rose of Sharon,
79, Phormium tenax, New Zealand flax,
80, Aucuba, Spotted or Japanese laurel,
81, Fatsia japonica, Japanese aralia,
82, Euphorbia characias, Mediterranean spurge,
83, Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' , gold-edged winter daphne,
84, Euonymus japonicus, evergreen spindle,
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