Daily Archives: November 2, 2023


Garden Club Holiday Wreath Sale – Post-Halloween Reminder

At the risk of sounding like a nag, we enthusiastically encourage our readers in the Boston area to order The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s holiday wreaths now, before they sell out. All net proceeds go to neighborhood beautification projects such as tree care and public space garden maintenance, and because the Club is an all-volunteer organization, the raw costs are modest – no administrative overhead. Below, from our archives, is a photo of a tasteful indoor wreath which graced a Commonwealth Avenue home a number of years ago. The tones were based on the customer’s draperies and living room decor. Customization is a specialty. To order, visit https://gardenclubbackbay.org/store


Thursday, November 16, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – The English Gardener’s Garden, Online

The English Gardener’s Garden spans seven centuries to spotlight more than 60 of England’s finest gardens. Adapted from Phaidon’s bestselling The Gardener’s Garden and organized geographically by country, the selection ranges from formal Renaissance gardens, herbaceous Arts and Crafts gardens of the 20th century, to artistic creations and healing gardens by contemporary designers. Each entry is illustrated with sumptuous photographs and features a concise text detailing the garden’s historical and stylistic importance and that of its designer, patron, or maker. A beautiful and easy-to-use introduction for garden designers and enthusiasts alike.

The Garden Conservancy will sponsor a webinar on November 16 at 2 pm Eastern live on Zoom. $5 for Conservancy members, $10 general admission. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar.

Tom Stuart-Smith is a landscape architect and garden designer whose work combines naturalism with modernity and built forms with romantic planting. He read Zoology at the University of Cambridge before completing a postgraduate degree in Landscape Design. His projects include gardens at Chatsworth, a new public garden at the Hepworth Wakefield, and the masterplan for RHS Garden Bridgewater, one of the largest new garden projects in Europe. International projects include Le Jardin Secret in the heart of the medina in Marrakech, a garden located on the waterways near Kottayam in Kerala and show gardens for the international horticulture exhibition at IGA Berlin 2017, and the international garden expo Beijing 2019. Tom is a Vice President of the Royal Horticultural Society, a Trustee of the Garden Museum, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a Fellow of the Landscape Institute, and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Portrait by James Runcie.

Tania Compton spent twelve years (1993–2005) as Gardens Editor for British House & Garden before resuming work as a garden designer. In 2007, her book Dream Gardens, a collaboration with photographer Andrew Lawson, was published by Merrell. The Private Gardens of England (Constable, 2015) is in its 4th edition. Tania is Contributing Gardens Editor for The World of Interiors, and she gardens six acres of wild meadow in Wiltshire. Portrait by Sabine Rüber.

Dr. Toby Musgrave is an authority on gardens and plant history, a subject in which he has been widely published. He has presented on ITV and Channel 4 and is faculty lecturer at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad. He has authored Phaidon’s The Garden: Elements & Styles and Green Escapes and has contributed to several additional Phaidon Press titles, including The Garden Book and The Gardener’s Garden.