Gardens reimagined at the V&A Dundee’s groundbreaking exhibition

This spring, the V&A Dundee unveils Garden Futures: Designing with Nature, running from May 17th, 2025, to January 25th, 2026. The exhibition offers a fresh look at the modern garden—not just as a haven of beauty, but as a bold space for ecological thinking and cultural transformation.

Co-organised with the Vitra Design Museum, the Wüstenrot Foundation, and the Nieuwe Instituut, Garden Futures: Designing with Nature explores the evolution of gardens from secluded retreats to dynamic sites of environmental and social experimentation.

Featuring work by visionaries such as Piet Oudolf, Derek Jarman, William Morris, and Jamaica Kincaid, the show highlights how gardens can challenge convention and provoke reflection. Jarman’s windswept garden at Prospect Cottage, crafted from wildflowers and driftwood, becomes a poetic protest against desolation. In contrast, Oudolf’s richly layered plantings show how biodiversity and beauty can coexist in living systems.

Beyond the private sphere, Garden Futures addresses urban greening, communal growing spaces, and climate-conscious design. From vertical farms to community gardens, the exhibition illustrates how outdoor environments are shaping the cities of tomorrow.

At its core, the project asks: What role can gardens play in our shared future? The V&A Dundee invites visitors to see the garden as not only a space to escape, but a powerful tool for imagining a more resilient, inclusive world.