Daily Archives: January 14, 2022

Wednesday, January 19, 10:00 am GMT – Memories of Sissinghurst and her Grandparents, Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, with Juliet Nicolson, Online

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As one of the most famous gardens in the world, set in the ruins of a redbrick mansion where Elizabeth 1st stayed in 1573 for an exuberant weekend, Sissinghurst needs little introduction. Juliet Nicolson has known Sissinghurst all her life and her childhood memories of the creators of the garden, her grandparents Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, remain vivid. Racing the length of the Yew Walk, leaping from the top of the Tower steps, helping dig the earth with Harold for his meticulous planting of the Spring Garden and watching Vita as she trained her beloved old roses over hazel hoops helped inform Juliet’s lifelong love of the place.

Last summer, in defiance of every obstacle, Delos, the beautiful garden inspired by Vita and Harold’s love of Greece, finally brought its Mediterranean beauty to the Kentish Weald. This new ‘garden room’ is the realisation of a dream cherished by Juliet’s grandparents, but which was impossible to complete during their own lives due to lack of time and resources. Completed with the dedication of many, including the National Trust, the garden designer Dan Pearson, Head Gardener Troy Scott-Smith, and Sissinghurst’s stellar garden team, Juliet will outline the story of its evolution.

Juliet Nicolson is a highly successful author, journalist and social historian . A House Full of Daughters, a poignant account of the women in the Nicolson family, is perhaps her best known work; though Frostquake, published last year and charting the extraordinary winter of 1962/3, was received with universal acclaim and appears in paperback this week!

This Gardens Trust event, in conjunction with the Kent Gardens Trust, will take place Wednesday, January 19 at 10 am GMT, which is very early, but the recorded version is available almost immediately after and is available for £5 through Eventbrite. Register HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

Friday, January 21, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Gardening for Climate Change, Online

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What shifts are we already seeing in our native gardens and landscapes due to changing climate, and what can we expect to see? What steps can we take to address these changes, and what do they mean for our local ecology? Using the latest scientific modeling and information, Alexis Doshas and The Native Plant Trust will explore these big questions and dig deep to identify factors affecting our flora and the ways native plants respond. Most importantly, we will discuss our role as stewards of our gardens, forests, and fields. The online session takes place January 21 from 6 – 8. $30 for NPT members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/gardening-climate-change/

Thursday, January 20, 1:00 pm – The Gardens of the CHÂTEAU DE VILLANDRY, Online

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The Garden Conservancy is pleased to extend a special rate to our members for Alliance Française Miami Metro’s “The Making Of The French Garden” Virtual Series, live from France via Zoom. The series traces the evolution of the French garden from the enclosed gardens of the Middle Ages, through the magnificent Renaissance gardens created by Italian gardeners in the Loire Valley for the Valois kings upon their return from the Italian Wars in the 16th century, through the Classical gardens created by André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV and his court in and around Paris in the 17th century, through the landscape jardins à l’anglaise that swept France from the late 18th through the late 19th century, and ending with the revival of the formal jardins à la française at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. After an introductory lecture to give an overview of the development of the French garden and their designers over the past 500 years, the owners and historians of six of France’s most prestigious state- and privately-owned gardens open to the public will tell the stories of how their gardens were designed – and often redesigned more than once over the centuries – evoking the key designers and historical figures and events associated with their gardens. The series will conclude with an overview of the major parks and gardens of Paris. All lectures will be in English. $20 for Garden Conservancy members with Code MERCIALLIANCE2022, $20 general admission.

No gardens better exemplify the style of the French Renaissance period than the gardens of Villandry, which were recreated by Joachim Carvallo and his American wife Ann Coleman after their purchase of Villandry in 1906, replacing an English garden.  In the absence of the plan for the original garden, the design of the new Renaissance gardens was inspired by the engravings by Androuet du Cerceau of the gardens designed by Dom Pacello de Mercogliano for Charles VIII and Louis XII at Amboise and Blois around 1500. Speaker Henri Carvallo is the owner of the Château de Villandry and the great-grandson of Joachim and Ann Carvallo. Henri grew up at Villandry, handing out flyers for the château, acting as a guide, and helping with maintenance. Since taking over the estate from his parents in 1993, Henri has devoted himself full-time to managing Villandry, including the restoration and upkeep of the château and its extensive gardens. Among his other interests, Henri has been president of the French Chess Association for the past two years. Order HERE.