Join The Gardens Trust and Gillian Hovell and discover how the ancient Romans set the seeds of the shape and uses of our modern gardens. Explore the truly ancient, vibrant and fascinating origins of our personal garden spaces and of the grandeur of public gardens. Find out why, if the Romans could have had ‘House and Garden’ magazines, they would have reveled in them! See gardens anew through ancient kitchen gardens, mythological stories, attitudes to wildlife and public parks that all still flourish in our green spaces. Then stroll through the gardens of Roman Pompeii, now blossoming with new insights. This second session on February 20 will follow the origens of Roman Kitchen Gardens.
The surprisingly not-so-humble cabbage and gardens fit for royal kings were very real themes in the kitchen gardens of Ancient Romans. It’s a spicy, fruitful and fragrant story of a society in which your kitchen garden said far more about you than you might imagine … ingredients (rich and poor) were once tied up with morality and virtue. As the Roman influence grew, taking gardens into new lands, Roman philosophers, poets and garden experts wrote of these private supplies as big business, a personal medicine cabinet and a feast for all. Discover what they grew in their kitchen gardens 2,000 years ago and why, as well as their varied uses. We peer into the ancient growing of vegetables and fruit across the Roman Empire and we see the produce of our gardens from a very Roman viewpoint. Has it changed much in 2,000 years, or is there a timelessness here, despite some very culturally-specific beliefs?
After graduating with 2-1 (Hons) in Latin and Ancient History from Exeter University, Gillian Hovell worked in BBC Television and became an award-winning freelance writer, author, public speaker & broadcaster in the media and online. As an independent expert in the ancient world she specialises in archaeology, prehistory and in the Greek and Roman eras. She is a lecturer at York University and can be seen and heard on TV & Radio.
Gillian has excavated at major sites in the UK and Europe (hence ‘The Muddy Archaeologist’) and she shares her expertise and her passion with diverse audiences in the UK and internationally. For history and archaeology are everywhere, and they add colour, depth and meaning to every aspect our lives today.
Her series of The Muddy Archaeologist Online Courses enables you to explore ancient history, archaeology and Latin with her at any time. An ever-growing collection is available, and they can also be found on Gillian’s website here.
This ticket (REGISTER HERE) is for this individual session and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for o the entire course of 6 sessions at a cost of £42 via the link here. [Gardens Trust members may purchase tickets at £31.50 for the series or £6 each talk]. 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.
