Meet the Artist: Lily Blakely — The Creator Behind Bago’s Garden Guardians
A Creative Wanderer Among the Vines
Every so often, an artist arrives whose work feels perfectly attuned to the land, someone who notices the quiet details most of us walk past. Illustrator Lily Blakely, originally from the UK and currently travelling across Australia, is one of those rare observers. With her brush-and-ink lines and soft digital colour, she brings plants, creatures and landscapes to life with a sense of tenderness and wild imagination.
Rooted in Nature, Reaching for Story
Lily’s practice has long been shaped by themes of biophilia, our innate connection with the natural world. Her illustrations often depict vines threading through concrete, foliage reclaiming forgotten spaces, and plant-beings stepping gently into human stories. It’s a world where nature is not just scenery, but a character with agency, humour, and quiet strength.
Since graduating in 2018, Lily has worked across editorial illustration, books, album art, and merchandise design, always returning to her fascination with plants and the ways they persist, adapt, and reclaim.
Why Bago? Why Now?
When Lily first explored the Bago landscape, its maze, waterways, vineyard rows and wild pockets, something clicked. In conversation with Ian, whose deep knowledge of the land shapes every path and planting, and Kellie, who guides Bago’s storytelling and creative direction, the idea of Garden Guardians took root. Together, you imagined small beings shaped from the environment itself: protectors woven from leaves, water, bark and sunlight, watching over the hedges, the grapevines, the bridges, and the creatures who call this place home.
Each character in the Bago Maze Treasure Hunt began as Lily’s hand-drawn brush lines, then evolved through collaboration into vibrant personalities—playful, protective and full of charm. The Guardians invite families to wander deeper into the landscape, seeing Bago through an artist’s eyes: curious, wondrous, and always connected to nature.
Art as a Way of Honouring Place
For Lily, this collaboration isn’t just an illustration project, t’s a form of stewardship and storytelling. Her Garden Guardians echo Bago’s values: connection to the land, family creativity, outdoor adventure, and the belief that nature flourishes when we pay attention.
As you move through the maze this summer, keep an eye out. A leaf might be more than a leaf. A ripple might signal a water spirit. The vines might be whispering. And somewhere among the hedges, Lily’s guardians will be keeping watch, inviting you into a world where imagination and ecology meet.
Follow Lily’s Work
If you’ve fallen in love with the Garden Guardians, you’ll adore the rest of Lily’s world. Her illustrations are full of wild greenery, gentle humour and botanical magic.
Follow her on Instagram to see more of her beautiful work, behind-the-scenes sketches and ongoing travels: @lilyblkly
The Lily Maze Treasure Hunt will open on Boxing Day 26, ready for families to explore through summer.