Photography by Derek Brown, except where noted.
Spread out in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, the garden at Little Sparta was created by artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay over decades, with his wife Sue. Simply put, It is one of the greatest works of art created in Scotland.
In the early days, after Finlay purchased the five-acre plot in 1966, and Brown was at school with Eck (the nickname of Alec Hamilton Finlay, son of the artist), the garden was very much a work-in-progress.
“Goose Hut” made with wood and heather. Ian Hamilton Finlay worked with many collaborators to realize his vision.
Ian Hamilton Finlay was a “concrete poet,” intensely interested in words and the application of words. When Finlay and his wife arrived at the unpromising farm (originally named Stonypath), they immediately set about constructing waterways to create a series of ponds and lochs.
Sue Finlay wrote of her devotion to the garden and of “tending the poems” just as one would tend plants.
A reminder of war, one of the leitmotifs of the garden.
Photograph by Andrew Lawson courtesy of Frances Lincoln.
For more, see Little Sparta: The Garden of Ian Hamilton Finlay.
Finlay also relied on the help of the best stone masons and letter carvers.
For more, see Little Sparta: The Garden of Ian Hamilton Finlay.
Photograph by Andrew Lawson courtesy of Frances Lincoln.
A visit to Little Sparta is to be a part of something which is “deeply personal and engaging,” says Derek Brown.
There were no trees at the beginning but with their maturity, and the aid of water and sculpture, Hamilton Finlay’s vision of a durable garden has been realized. For hours and admission prices to visit the garden during spring and summer months, see Little Sparta.