Daily Archives: January 17, 2022

Wednesday, January 26, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Balmoral Cottage, Benenden, Online

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A visit to the extraordinary and charming garden around Balmoral Cottage in Benenden, Kent has become a ‘must‘ for all lovers of topiary. This Gardens Trust lecture , co-sponsored with the Kent Gardens Trust, on January 26 at 1 pm Eastern time will attempt to recreate the magic on our screens. £5. Register HERE.

Just over 30 years ago, Donald and Charlotte Molesworth were, by good fortune, able to purchase the almost derelict small house that stood in the abandoned old kitchen garden of Collingwood (Cherry) Ingram’s house, The Grange. They moved in with one light bulb, a bed, a small table , 2 dogs, a donkey , 7 hens, and boxes of Narcissus pseudo-narcissus from Donald’s father’s garden, yew seedlings as part of a wedding present, and numerous plants in every conceivable kind of container. A new garden started to form in their minds the next day.

Thousands of boxwood and other cuttings were taken, the old kitchen garden dug over and weeded to form a temporary nursery, and a pond was dug by a friend as a wedding present! A detailed plan emerged, and in time became a reality. Donald had gained inspiration from a wonderful garden made by his father; Charlotte had become inspired by the topiary loved by her mother. The fusion of interests at Balmoral Cottage has resulted in a marvelous blend of weird and wonderful topiary interspersed with quiet niches filled with plant treasures of all kinds.

Charlotte Molesworth is a professional garden designer and artist and has built up a reputation for her topiary designs. Donald has been a horticulturist for as long as he remembers!

Tuesday, February 1, 6:30 pm – Deer Resistant Design, Online

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Deer Resistant Design author and garden expert Karen Chapman shares tips and tricks in this Morven Museum & Garden virtual program at 6:30 on February 1, with Q&A.

Discover time-and taste-tested design strategies, tips, and tricks that will help you create a beautiful fence-free garden that thrives despite the deer.

This informative and entertaining virtual lecture includes a powerpoint presentation highlighting information from Karen Chapman’s Deer Resistant Design book and is a great opportunity to share your garden’s deer challenges and find solutions during the live Q&A session.

Email questions to dlampertrudman@morven.org in the week prior to the program. This program will *not* be recorded, so be sure to save the date, reserve your most comfy seat at home, and have a paper and pencil handy to jot down lots of great tips!

Detailed handouts will be provided by email prior to the program. Zoom link will be sent to participants the day of the program – with reminder emails sent in the hours leading up to the program.

From Karen Chapman:

Born in England, I grew up with a trowel in my hand.

After moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1996 I joined one of the leading garden nurseries as a garden plant specialist. Helping hundreds of customers create beautiful combinations of plants to enhance their outdoor living spaces was always a delight. Ten years later I established my business Le jardinet in order to provide a service that takes all the time, stress and guesswork out of the design process.

In the recent past I have taught container gardening at a local Community College, and continue to teach both container and landscape design in occasional workshops and events as well offering a range of online learning opportunities .

When I’m not teaching garden design or talking about it I am usually writing about it, and my articles and designs have been featured in many national gardening publications including Fine Gardening, Country Gardens, Sunset, and Garden Design. I have co-authored two books: the award winning Fine Foliage (St. Lynn’s Press, 2013) and highly acclaimed Gardening with Foliage First (Timber Press, 2017), while my latest book Deer-Resistant Design was released in 2019 (Timber Press).

Specializing in creating artistic plant combinations with a four season foliage framework, functional outdoor living spaces and deer resistant, summer-dry designs, it would give me great pleasure to share my love of gardening with you.

$10 for Morven members, $15 for nonmembers. Register through Eventbrite HERE.