“I remember going to the bottom of the garden, to a forgotten swamp world of monstrous green creatures: a dense, jungle of undergrowth of massive and mysterious lifeforms.  I loved them.

Now, when I go back, I’m struck by memories of my childhood and the many characters who walked and played there.  Returning as an adult, I see them with fresh eyes and fresh understanding.

In their frames, the giant gunnera manicata leaves capture and hold still that ephemeral beauty of nature.  Normally they wilt and die, but on walls they have become windows of time.  Time is harsh and slowly degenerates, but if the memories of the past can be preserved, they are still alive…”

Tom Berington wanted to create something beautiful to hang on the wall and found the answer in gunnera leaves from the garden of his family home – a C15th Prior’s Hall, once attached to a neighbouring Benedictine monastery on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.

By attempting to create the ultimate pressed flowers, the enormous leaves are dried slowly and by hand, resembling ancient relief maps.

In communicating the temporal and fragile nature of things, fertile ground allowed his imagination and ideas to flourish, proving that art can pause the destructive power of time.

order process:

Please complete our contact form, sending your name, email address, contact phone number and delivery area.

We will email a choice of two different options to choose from, sending photos and inviting you to view them at our Notting Hill studio.

These botanical pictures are made to order from a limited number of suitable leaves available.  Please note that each leaf is cut by hand and anomalies in the materials are not to be considered imperfections, but are a testament to the uniqueness of the individual piece.