SWEEPING sculptures forged from hot metal and melted glass will tower among foliage in ornamental gardens.

A swirling display of about 20 art pieces will soon stand against the backdrop of Waterperry Gardens near Wheatley, for an eight-week exhibition called SuperNature III.

Each was crafted by blacksmith and artist Jenny Pickford, who grew up in Stanton St John, just a few miles away from the outdoor show venue.

Many of her creations mimic a particular plant, from a gigantic replica of a purple Lily of the Nile flower to the delicate spikes of a soaring dandelion clock.

She said: “I respond to nature.

“I grew up on a farm and the Oxfordshire countryside has really inspired me.”

Miss Pickford, who is now based in Herefordshire, was formerly a pupil at Headington School in Oxford then Lord Williams’s School in Thame.

Though the blacksmith no longer lives in Oxfordshire, she still has family living in the county and a close connection to the area.

She said returning for the exhibition ‘feels like coming home’.

The sculptor has already put her stamp on the popular gardens, after being commissioned to create gates to sit in the herbaceous border.

Miss Pickford originally studied fine art but started learning how to manipulate metals to allow for work on a larger scale.

Her signature style combines forged steel with blown glass to make oversized, fluid shapes inspired by the natural world, many of which stand at between four and five metres tall.

She said: “I love the technical challenges of creating a huge work that will be stable when it’s installed and maybe shiver a little in the breeze. I like to stop people in their tracks.

“I love Waterperry Gardens, and the mix there of formality and areas that are still uncultivated woodland.

“I can see so many suitable locations for my work there – some pieces suit the formal areas, others relate so well to the wilder, more open settings.”

She said that the larger five-metre pieces take about three months to create.

Her exhibition starts on Saturday, September 8 and runs until Saturday, November 3.

The gardens are situated in the village of Waterperry and sprawl across eight acres of land. The site also includes an amphitheatre, museum, country house and tea shop.

Miss Pickford will chat to visitors on ‘meet the artist’ days at the gardens, on two Fridays and Saturdays - September 21 and 22, and October 12 and 13.

All of the sculptures will also be up for sale, although the artist said people are welcome to just come and enjoy viewing them.

There is no additional cost to enter the exhibition but general access to the gardens costs £7.95 for adults, and there is no charge for children.