Take a trip around UK Gardens with Google Arts & Culture
People are searching for gardens and green spaces more than ever. In keeping with this green-fingered enthusiasm, Google Arts & Culture is launching our first foray into the natural world, celebrating a unique selection of gardens and gardening from across the United Kingdom: Gardens United.
Gardens United is a new, interactive digital hub sharing the stories of a range of gardens around the country, thanks to collaboration between Google Arts & Culture and over 30 cultural partners in the UK. From archives to allotments, from botanic gardens to heritage bodies, there is something for everyone to enjoy and discover. This is only the beginning and we hope everyone can take some inspiration away from exploring online and in the physical world.
Take a look at 6 ways to jump right in:
- Get a bird's eye view. Gardens United brings together over 50 gardens from across the United Kingdom. From the Isle of Wight, to Northern Ireland to the Scottish borders, and see the unique beauty that can be found in each of them.
- Learn about modern gardens and why they are so important today. Hear from leading garden designer Juliet Sargent on how she created her award-winning Modern Slavery Garden, and her thoughts on the future of gardening. While Rainbow Grow founder Clair Battaglino discusses why the rules don’t always have to apply to gardening.
- See a garden through a child’s eye. Meet Robin, one of Alnwick Gardens biggest fans, and explore the breadth of plant life that can be found in the Northumberland site, from the largest Taihaku cherry orchard outside Japan, through to a signing gate - all through a child's eye.
- Discover the benefits of gardens on our health and wellbeing. We all know nature is good for us, but what does that really mean? Hear from experts at Oxford Botanic Gardens about prescribing gardens, and see how the charity Hospital Rooms are working to bring the magic of gardens to aid treatments in clinical settings.
- Hear from experts explain the link between climate change and how gardens can play their part. From your cup of coffee to your afternoon snack, changing climates are threatening our food supplies. Teams at Kew Gardens are working with local growers to trial new ways of growing crops and save seeds for the future. Meanwhile on the Isle of Wight, Ventnor Botanic Gardens are working to predict the effects of climate change on the rest of the country due to their unique microclimate.
- Get creative with gardens-inspired Machine Learning. To celebrate the beauty of gardens using art and technology, we have launched a new set of Machine Learning-powered explorations with Art Transfer, for those looking for more creative interaction. Try them out using the Camera features in the Google Arts & Culture app on iOS and Android.
Want to learn more? Visit g.co/GardensUnited, or download Google Arts & Culture’s Android or iOS app.
Gardens United map, illustration by Gill Heeley
Cherry orchard at The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland
The Modern Slavery Garden by Juliet Sargent
Prairie Fields at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Experiment with Art Transfer and transform your photos into garden-inspired works
