Why Gardens Inspire So Much of My Artwork
- Lisa from MollyMac
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
There is something quite magical about a garden, even if it is a tiny one.
My favourite garden apart from my own, was the garden that belonged to my mother. It was the size of a postage stamp but it was full of colour and crazy ideas. It wasn't just the flowers, although I never tire of their colours and shapes, but it was the way she laid it out. There was a climbing rose that ambled around an arch, a tiny pond, a bird bath and an old grecian lady carrying a basket which was pretty difficult as she only had one arm and which we picked up from a boot sale one day many years ago because my mother just loved it.
It’s the small moments that almost go unnoticed that bring such pleasure - the blackbird that visited every year for about fifteen years with a single white feather on its wing, the humming bird hawk moth that visits the buddleia every Summer at least I assume it’s the same one… Or the buzz of bumble bees that built their home at the back of the tumbledown shed. These are moments that inspire my sketchbook and eventually appear in my artwork.
As the creator behind MollyMac Living, my garden has always been one of my greatest sources of inspiration. It is where many of my ideas begin. Some artists work from photographs or travel journals. I often find myself working from observations gathered in my own garden, where every season brings a new palette of colours, textures and wildlife visitors.
Gardens Inspire so Many Stories
Gardens are never still. They are constantly changing and evolving.
In Spring, there is the excitement of new growth and fresh green shoots and my amazement every year at how many weeds can actually begin to grow.
Late Spring, early Summer brings the most vibrant blooms to my garden and sometimes the need to water, a process I never really want to do! It's also invariably the time when I have a new project or two, some of which succeed, and some of which are unmitigated disasters. It is also my favourite time because come six o’clock, work permitting we pause to spend a little time outside in my favourite occupation which in our family we call ‘Drinks on the terrasssssse’. No, the drinks don’t have to be alcoholic but they invariably are! At least when the sun is shining! By Autumn we see a richer colour palette and the beautiful seed heads appear as if from no where, while Winter reveals the bare structure and character of the garden in a completely different way.
Every season tells its own story, and each story inspires a new collection of sketches and ideas for me. Many of my garden-inspired art prints begin with simple observations: a favourite flower, a visiting bird or an arrangement of blooms gathered from the garden and placed in a jug on the kitchen table.
Finding Beauty in Everyday Nature
One of the things I love most about gardening is that it encourages us to slow down and notice the details. It doesn't have to be grand or perfectly designed to be beautiful. To be honest my garden is a higgledy-piggledy mass of wonder and 'what's going on there?'
Some of my favourite inspirations come from self-seeded flowers, unruly pots and borders and unexpected wildlife encounters.
I believe that nature has an incredible ability to lift our spirits, and it certainly lifts my own. I try to capture that sense of joy and wonder in my artwork. Through colour, pattern and illustration, I hope my prints and homeware bring just a little of that garden magic indoors.
Bringing the Garden Into Your Home
During the colder months we often spend more time indoors and art can be a wonderful way to keep a connection with nature throughout the year.
My collection of garden-inspired prints celebrating flowers, wildlife and the colours of the natural world. Whether displayed in a hallway, kitchen, living room or garden room, botanical artwork can help create a space that feels uplifting, welcoming and connected to nature.
If you love colourful blooms, garden wildlife and nature-inspired interiors, I invite you to explore my art print page, where many of the illustrations have their roots in the plants, birds and flowers that inspire me every day.
The Garden Is Never Finished
One of the joys of both gardening and creating art is that neither is ever truly finished, they are always a work in progress.
There is always another seed to sow, another flower to discover, another page waiting to be filled in a sketchbook, another design to be created.
My garden continues to inspire new ideas, new illustrations and new stories, and I look forward to sharing them with you through the ever-growing illustrated world of MollyMac.
Thank you for joining me on the journey.
Best wishes,
Lisa x
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