Gardens are many things. An oasis for nature, a retreat from the outside world, a haven for blooms. But how has the LGBTQI+ community been involved with their design, upkeep and prominence throughout the years? How is queerness seen in the natural world?
As well as being a historian and tour guide, Sheldon K Goodman is also passionate about gardening. He will give three talks looking at queerness in gardens from the work of gardeners, LGBTQI+ led community gardening initiatives in London, historical people such as Virginia Woolf, Reginald Farrer and Sir Francis Bacon and queer ecology’s roots in Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality (tr. Robert Hurley, 1978-2021, Pantheon Books) as well as queer gardening in the here and now.
The first session on January 9 is Come Outside. Who are the trailblazers in representing queer gardening today and how has their work shown queerness? From institutions embracing the valuable expression outside of Pride month for all manner of talks and events throughout the year, in this talk Sheldon looks at the work of luminaries such as hortpreneur Michael Perry, Daisy Desire the Drag Queen gardener, horticulturalist and journalist Alys Fowler and garden designer Lee Burkill. The talk will also focus on the increasing popularity of queer gardeners online and how those outside the heteronormative world have channeled their identities into designing and planting gardens. This Gardens Trust talk is £8 through Eventbrite, or £15.75 for the series. Register HERE Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.
