A new exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum explores the 'history and future of modern gardens'

Examples as far ranging as the British 19th-century Utopian reformer Ebenezer Howard and contemporary industry mainstay Piet Oudolf are brought in at different points in the exhibition to make a case for the importance of gardens as wide-reaching intersections of visual arts, architecture, and politics — a notion curators claim is currently underappreciated by the wider academic design community.

As the exhibition's curators say: “The questions raised by the group still remain the subject of much debate: who is entitled to a garden, what is a garden for, and how can gardens be integrated into an urban environment?” The answers provided then work to prove an idealistic worldview, whereby “the entire planet emerges as a garden that we need to cultivate, tend, and use responsibly.” 

The exhibition is designed by the Italian firm Formafantasma and will be accompanied by a “lavishly illustrated” publication with in-depth essays, interviews with leading garden designers, and case studies.

Garden Futures: Designing with Nature is open to the public now and will remain on view until October 3rd. Learn more about the exhibition here.