How to start your own paper collage garden inspired by Mrs. Delany
Molly Peacock’s The Paper Garden recounts how Mary Delany, an English artist with a passion for plants, began creating intricate botanical collages at 72. Working with cut, coloured and pasted paper, she made jewel-like scenes that blend specimen study, portrait and imaginative garden. Her late start offers a reassuring lesson: a long life can still open a new creative chapter.
A paper collage garden gathers such scenes into a changing collection. Each panel can focus on one flower, leaf or seed head, while the group becomes a bed of plants. You can follow Delany’s careful layering without chasing museum-level perfection, adapting her method to Australian plants and materials found close to home.
For a first project, choose a modest format, gather references and allow time for cutting and arranging. The aim is not a replica of Delany’s work, but a personal archive of colour and growth. Start with one sheet of tissue paper, one plant and one board; the garden can expand as your confidence does.
Begin with a small, personal patch
Decide whether your garden will live in one frame or across several small panels. A4 or A3 card is practical for beginners and easy to buy at Officeworks and independent Australian art-supply stores. A single panel might hold three related forms; separate works give each plant more space and let you rearrange the display.
Sketch the composition lightly before committing to paper. Delany’s backgrounds often create strong silhouettes, but you can work more loosely with washes, torn edges or printed photographs. Use the plant’s structure as an organising principle: one dominant stem, a cluster of buds or a fan of leaves will read clearly across a room.
Gather references and make a palette
A botanical reference should tell you more than a flower’s outline. Record leaf veins, stem junctions, seed heads and the way petals overlap. The Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha and Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens offer public inspiration, although visitors must follow local rules and avoid collecting protected plants.
Photography and public-domain illustrations can support observation, while plants from your own garden provide colour and scale. Choose a narrow group and pull their colours onto scrap paper. Australian natives such as waratah, banksia, bottlebrush and kangaroo paw offer strong shapes, while roses, grevilleas and kitchen herbs can be equally rewarding.
Build a simple palette:
- Warm pinks and coral for grevillea, waratah and rose petals
- Deep greens mixed from olive, sap green and a little blue
- Brown and ochre for woody stems, bark and seed pods
- One unexpected accent, such as violet, to keep the garden lively
Keep a compact working kit nearby:
- Acid-free cartridge paper or card for the base
- Tissue paper, printed florals and watercolour for colour
- Fine scissors, a craft knife, PVA glue, pencil and ruler
Prepare papers for a layered effect
Choose papers that hold colour without making the work heavy. Tissue paper creates translucent petals, printed sheets add texture, and painted scraps work well for leaves. Cut a rough silhouette first, test it against the background and refine only what matters. Small adjustments are more useful than tiny, uniform pieces.
Keep Delany’s spirit while using materials suited to a home studio. Her exact process is partly debated, so a contemporary garden can be playful and modular.
| Delany’s paper mosaics | A contemporary collage garden |
|---|---|
| Hand-cut pieces of coloured and printed paper | Tissue, painted scraps, stamps and punched shapes |
| A dark backing that makes botanical forms stand out | A neutral, patterned or painted ground chosen by you |
| Controlled silhouettes and densely layered details | Loose edges, simple forms or precise cutting, depending on your style |
| Individual botanical miniatures | Separate panels that can be rearranged and rotated |
| Historic sheets and pigments developed over many months | Papers and colours sourced from current Australian shops |
For a manageable first attempt, make one 21 by 30 centimetre panel. Build from the back: place the stem and largest shapes, add secondary forms, then finish with seed heads, stamens and fine veins. Overlap creates depth, while white space prevents the panel from feeling crowded.
Assemble and mount your collage garden
Work on a clean surface and glue sparingly. Delany’s shaped fragments can be echoed with torn paper, stamps or punched dots. Vary texture by combining matte card, glossy tissue and painted tissue, then use the darkest colour to sharpen stems and leaf edges.
Source responsibly. Use images you may reproduce, photograph plants on private property, and check council rules before gathering anything from a reserve or public garden. Australian native plants can be culturally significant, and some species are protected, so a printed reference may be wiser. If using found paper, test colourfastness with a damp fingertip.
Climate matters once the collage is mounted. Humid summers can encourage curling and slow-drying adhesives, while dry inland conditions may lift delicate tissue. Work in a dry room, keep pieces flat under a clean sheet while glue cures, and choose acid-free mounts from Australian framing suppliers.
Display, rotate and document
Give finished panels room to breathe. A neutral mount and simple frame will preserve colour, while an informal wall salon can feel like a garden bed. In a family home, a hallway or study may be more workable than the lounge; in shared space, ask before fixing anything and use removable hooks for a temporary display.
Delany refined her work over time, so do not treat the first panel as a final verdict. A note on Delany’s mysterious methods is a reminder that her process left questions for later researchers. Photograph each stage, label the plant and date on the reverse, and record the papers and colours you used.
After a season, rotate faded pieces and use the gaps for new studies. Australian suppliers commonly sell archival sleeves, corner mounts and A3 frames, so you can conserve a favourite while experimenting elsewhere. The collection becomes a record of your neighbourhood, your garden and the plants you notice.
Make your first garden bed this weekend
Choose one plant you can see this week, such as a bottlebrush along a local street or a herb in your kitchen. Make one A4 panel with three related shapes: a stem, a leaf and a flower or seed head. Cut from two or three colours, layer them and mount the result on card. That small exercise is an approachable way to have a go while containing the essential method.
Next, gather three more studies in a deliberately limited palette. Arrange them loosely until the group feels balanced, then photograph the display and note the date. A paper collage garden grows through repetition: each new sheet teaches you how much colour, detail and pressure the process needs.
Make your first garden bed today, then share the finished panel with a friend or local makers’ group. Keep what resonates, alter what does not, and return to the official site’s readings and material about The Paper Garden as the collection grows. A small first panel can mark the beginning of a long, observant practice.