Daily Archives: March 14, 2023


Wednesday, March 22, 11:00 am – The Gardens of Harewood House, Online

There are over 100 acres of gardens and pleasure grounds at Harewood, set within an ornamental parkland of over 1,000 acres created during the 18th century. The Gardens comprise various horticultural areas, each different in style, and containing a significant plant collection throughout. Trevor will give a brief history of the gardens before talking about the work of the gardens team over the past three decades and provide a glimpse into the future.

The Terrace – a Victorian, Italianate formal garden, complete with C19 parterre by Sir Charles Barry, with fountains, clipped yew and box, prominent mixed flower borders and a large scale sub-tropical planting scheme.

The Himalayan Garden – a naturalistic sunken garden with waterfall and stream, rock and bog gardens containing a thematic plant collection, including trees and shrubs, rhododendrons, and herbaceous plants from Asia.

The Walled Garden – a traditional utilitarian garden, built in the 1750’s and divided into two parts, with a productive kitchen garden, flower borders, apple orchard and meadow.

Trevor Nicholson has been Head Gardener at Harewood for 28 years. His horticulture career began in 1980 at Houghall College, Durham, where he trained in Horticulture and Arboriculture. At Harewood Trevor has worked continuously on the revival, conservation and development of the gardens: introducing bold new planting schemes in the formal terrace gardens, tree & shrub planting in the park, as well as the re-development of the 1930’s rock garden as a Himalayan Garden with a significant collection of Sino-Himalayan plants. Trevor also brought the Walled Garden back into production in the 1990s and is working with the executive team on its restoration and development. With the help of grants from the RHS Bursaries Committee, and support from Harewood House Trust, Trevor undertook two botanical study tours to Nepal, China and Bhutan – informing the development of the Himalayan Garden at Harewood.

This is the fourth in a series of talks in which the speakers will introduce a variety of landscapes, gardens and themes enjoyed by Yorkshire Gardens Trust members which portray the wide diversity of designed landscapes in the 3 Yorkshire counties and the interests of the membership. 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. £5 each or all 5 for £20 Register through Eventbrite HERE.


Saturday, March 25, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Rich Mesic Forests

This March 25 Native Plants Trust program at Garden in the Woods in Framingham from 10:30 – 12:30 will discuss the sugar maple white ash forest communities that have such a remarkable diversity of native plants. The talk will cover the location of these communities in New England, their physical features, and, in detail, their flora. Threats to this community, such as invasive plans and the emerald ash borer will also be discussed. Ted Elliman leads the discussion. $30 for NPT members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/rich-mesic-forests/


Tuesday, March 21, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Gardens of the Gilded Age

Come take an armchair tour of the gardens at the Newport Mansions, Vanderbilt Estate, Vizcaya, Untermyer Gardens, Nemours, and more. The Southbridge Garden Club presents Jana Milbocker on March 21 at 6 pm at the Charlton Public Library, 40 main Street in Charlton. Jana Milbocker is the owner of Enchanted Gardens, a landscape design firm in the Boston area. She is the author of three garden travel guides, the latest being The Garden Tourist’s Florida. She is past President of the Holliston Garden Club, and an active member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and GardenComm International. There is NO CHARGE to attend this meeting. To register visit https://charltonlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/gardens-of-the-gilded-age-southbridge-garden-club/