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© Kirsten Prisk

Garden Stories:

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden

For Barbara Hepworth, the discovery of the studio in St Ives where she was to live and work for more than 25 years was “a sort of magic”. “For 10 years I had passed by with my shopping bags, not knowing what lay behind the 20-foot wall,” the celebrated sculptor wrote, years later. “Here was a studio, a yard and garden where I could work in open air and space.”

The studio at Trewyn was light, bright and airy; the yard a sunny spot where she could catch a glimpse of the sea while she worked; and the garden a haven from the bustle beyond the high wall. It was to become a great source of inspiration for Hepworth, and a showcase for her work.

In her marble workshop at the edge of the garden, she would carve stone, and in the neighbouring room, she created plasters destined to be cast in bronze. A work in progress was often placed in one area of the garden and then moved around, so that she could contemplate it from a variety of angles and decide if more needed to be done.

Hepworth had come to live in Cornwall with her husband, artist Ben Nicholson, and their

© Kirsten Prisk

young family, following the outbreak of the Second World War. It was in 1949 that she discovered Trewyn. Mature trees and magnolias were already in residence there, and within this framework, Hepworth, a keen gardener, created a space where exotic plants like fan palms and bamboos could live

among the sculptures.

As each piece was finished, she would plant specifically to complement it. The gnarled texture of the 1958 bronze, Garden Sculpture, was inspired by the texture of the old copper beech which stands behind it. A Fatsia japonica with giant waxy leaves overlooks a 1968 work, Six Forms, which is composed of similar shapes.

This is also a garden of enchanting beauty and exquisite scents. In spring, the delicate blossom of a Japanese cherry decorates the lawn like confetti; in early summer, Hepworth’s beloved roses scent the air.

During the years the sculptor lived at Trewyn, the garden was known only by a few of her close friends. For most people in St Ives, it remained a secret, just as it had been for Hepworth, in the days when she used to walk past on her way home from the shops.

In her will, however, she expressed the hope that her home, studio and garden would be opened to the public as a permanent exhibition of her work and the environment in which it was created. After she died in a fire in 1975, Trewyn was given to the nation, and her family oversaw the creation of the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.

The museum and garden came under the care of the Tate Gallery in London – along with much of the sculptures which remained there – and are now managed by Tate St Ives, which is less than five minutes’ walk away. Working in partnership with the family, the Tate’s aim has always been to preserve both studio and garden as they were when Hepworth lived there, and to maintain a real sense of her presence.

Some of her most significant carvings and bronze sculptures are displayed in the way she intended. The largest pieces are on the lawn: Divided Circle, casts shadows on the lawn, and frames the smaller sculpture behind it, and Four-Square (Walk Through) is thought to have been inspired by the tower of St Ives Parish Church.

© Kirsten Prisk

Several years after she came to Trewyn, Hepworth acquired land from her neighbour, another artist, and his studio became her greenhouse. She was a collector of cacti, and the plants – some now more than 100 years old – still thrive in the greenhouse. Robins have been known to nest there, and in the garden outside, regular visitors include not just seagulls, but also blackbirds, finches, bees, butterflies and hummingbird moths.

Hepworth once described her work as an attempt “to infuse the formal perfection of geometry with the vital grace of nature”. The planting in the garden makes the most of the shadows as they move around during the day, and the lush foliage means that there is something to see all year round.

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is in Barnoon Hill, and is open daily from 10am to 5.20pm. Timed tickets are required for all visitors. For more information, see https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tatest-ives/barbara-hepworth-museum-and-sculpture-garden Barbara Hepworth’s work can also be seen in the main displays at Tate St Ives alongside the works of her contemporaries.

Trevena Cross Nurseries:

All hands on deck

Trevena Cross has continued to provide a safe place to visit through the summer, while inspiring new ideas for the garden, or complete garden transformations. There’s no doubt, though, that the last few months have been interesting.

As the nurseries’ owner Graham Jeffery explains: “It has been a funny old time, in more ways than one. While continuing to navigate an enduring pandemic, our reliable source of comfort, the garden, has also been challenged, with the weather throwing curveballs in the form of frosts in April, and then very sudden scorching temperatures in July.

“I don’t know where we’re going to be in September and October – but hopefully the relaxing of rules and the summer surge of visitors to the county won’t have caused great harm to Cornwall and its people, and the weather will have found its status quo again.”

It may have been holiday season for most this past couple of months, but Trevena Cross has been ‘all hands on deck’ preparing for autumn. The team have been growing, potting on and nurturing a huge range of fresh stock, from fabulous packs of home-grown bedding in the form of pansies, violas and cyclamen, to a great range of shrubs, ornamental trees, fruit trees, soft fruit bushes, and new batches of robust hedging plants. Often considered the season for the true gardener, it’s the time when perfect planting conditions are usually met – autumn showers moistening the still warm summer soil and giving the root system of plants time to establish before winter dormancy.

Spring flowering bulbs are also in and already flying out. Plan fast and act quickly to make next year’s magnificent daffodil display or tulip show a reality.

Before the over-excitement of new planting sets in, though, do not forget to have a good tidy up and ‘set the scene’. Dig over the soil of any fresh beds and borders and give them a good feed. Improve the soil structure with organic matter where necessary, to give new plantings the best possible chance of early establishment. Clear debris and any leaves when they start to fall, too – small piles of undisturbed, appropriately positioned leaves will provide the perfect hide-out for wildlife like insects and hedgehogs!

Give hedges and fruit trees a prune, and ensure you have safe structures, decent windbreaks and shelter for the garden in preparation for the winter months ahead.

If you need any planting advice this autumn, Trevena Cross is the perfect port of call. The nurseries’ friendly plant experts are growers themselves – of more than 90% of the plants you’ll see on a visit – and they’re always on hand to help. Plus, if you pop by for in-person advice, you’ll have a great excuse to stop by the Garden Kitchen Café for a cuppa, irresistible sweet treat, or a spot of lunch!

Trevena Cross, Breage, Helston, TR13 9PY 01736 763880 | trevenacross.co.uk

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