One of Scotland's most acclaimed artistic gardens and an artist residency in Sri Lanka are among the recipients of more than £2.7m in arts funding.

Little Sparta, near Dunsyre in the Pentland Hills, was once described as one of Scotland's most important works of art, was created by Ian Hamilton Finlay and contains nearly 300 works of art created by the artist, who died in 2006.

In Creative Scotland's round of Open Funding, it receives nearly £50,000 for its Sharing Little Sparta scheme.

The money will go towards raising awareness of the "remarkable creation" as well as improving access, staging residencies, exhibitions and other events.

Finlay and his wife, Sue, moved to Stonypath, a semi-derelict hill farm, 25 miles south-west of Edinburgh, and began work on Little Sparta, which slowly became dominated by his neo-classical sculptures, in 1966.

By the end of his life, Finlay was considered among the nation's most important artists.

He was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1985 and became a CBE in 2002.

A Trust raised enough money to buy the site in 2006 and has been fund raising for years to preserve and highlight the site.

The Open Project Funding list from October to December last year also includes a grant of more than £51,000 for an artist residency in Hikkaduwa, south west Sri Lanka, run by UZ Arts.

The money for the residency centre, Suramedura, will allow it to have five Scottish based artists work at the site, followed by presentations of their work in Sri Lanka and Scotland after the residency.

Both grants are among 129 projects receiving awards worth between £1000 and £140,000.

Award recipients include festivals, musicians, filmmakers, visual artists, comedians, community arts centres, dancers and writers.

Among the official list of funded projects published by Creative Scotland is the £15,000 which it has given to artist Ellie Harrison for her controversial Glasgow Effect project.

Other projects awarded money include Stornoway-based music festival HebCelt and the Shetland Folk Festival, and the Scottish band Honeyblood, who will create a short film to support the upcoming release of their second album.

Scottish Gaelic theatre company, Theatre Gu Leòr will tour Gaelic play Shrapnel by Catriona Lexy Chaimbeul throughout Scotland.

Shrapnel is the adaptation of the Gaelic novel of the same title by novelist, and Ms Chaimbeul's father, Tormod Caimbeul.

Iain Munro, deputy chief executive at Creative Scotland said: "Collectively, these projects will have a major impact on the quality of people’s lives."