Daily Archives: October 23, 2023

Wednesday, November 1, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Eastern – Head Gardeners at Historic Sites: Frances Tophill at Sharpham, Online

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The Gardens Trust Wednesday webinar series this Autumn will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. This is the first lecture of the second set of five talks, exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage. you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link 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.

On November 1, meet Frances Tophill at Sharpham. On the banks of the river Dart in Devon, Sharpham has been a dwelling since the 14th century. The present Palladian mansion, designed by Sir Robert Taylor, was built in the 1760s. The gardens have been through many changes over the years and are set in a Grade II registered landscape attributed to Capability Brown. There are 19th century pleasure gardens around the house, formal terraced gardens designed by Percy Cane in the 1960s (recently replanted as a tea garden), a walled kitchen garden, woodland garden and two orchards planted since 2000.

The house and gardens have been vested in the Sharpham Trust since 1982, an educational charity which aims to connect people with nature and foster mindfulness and well-being through a program of retreats, courses, events and the arts.

Frances Tophill is currently Head Gardener and Grower at Sharpham Trust and she has also worked at Monet’s Garden and the Andromeda Botanical Garden in Barbados. On screen she is known for her work with Gardeners’ World and Love Your Garden. Her love affair with plants started with an NVQ and apprenticeship at The Salutation Garden in Kent, followed by a degree in Horticulture with Plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Passionate about conservation and sustainability, Frances has been involved in native tree planting and, in 2022, won ‘best show garden’ for a sustainable garden design and build at Gardeners’ World Live.

Saturday, February 24 – Saturday, March 2 – History and Gardens of the Caribbean

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Join a balmy Caribbean winter escape aboard the brand-new superyacht Emerald Azzurra. Sail to seven island paradises, once vital stops on transatlantic trade routes, and rediscover often-forgotten links between the Caribbean and the birth of the United States. From Barbados, sail to the little-visited yet spectacular island of Dominica and tour an 18th-century military fortress surrounded by virgin forest, shimmering rivers, and dormant volcanoes. Call at Nevis, the birthplace of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, and visit his childhood home. Spend a day among the white-sand beaches of St. Barthélemy (“St. Barts”), with opportunities to swim in the warm Caribbean waters. On magical Antigua, visit the famous Nelson’s Dockyard and a restored 17th-century sugar plantation before calling at Montserrat, described as “a modern-day Pompeii” and home to a stunning botanical garden. Step ashore for a day in the archipelago known as Îles des Saintes, site of the most significant naval battle ever fought in the Caribbean between the British and the French. Before disembarking upon return to Barbados, meander through a magnificent garden in Soufrière, a town on the island of St. Lucia. This Harvard Alumni trip (open to all) is co-sponsored with the National Trust for Historic Preservation the University of Chicago Alumni Association, and Johns Hopkins Alumni Association. Activity Level 3. Dates February 24 – March 2. Study leader Kay Kaufman Shelemay is the G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music, Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard. She plans to lecture on Caribbean music at home and abroad, and about Caribbean musicians and their global impact. For pricing and information on registration, visit HERE