Tuesday, May 6, 7:00 am – 8:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Conservation and “Restoration”, Online

The Gardens Trust’s final series of A History of Gardens will consider developments of the recent past. Starting with the arrival of the sleek, functional style of Modernism after the first world war, the talks will move on to explore contemporary thinking on the challenges of conserving and restoring historic parks and gardens, the rise of ecological perennial planting, the reappearance of allusive gardens and how a garden’s ‘spirit of place’ can guide sustainable plans for the future.

Themes and exemplars in garden-making are more difficult to identify without the benefit of distance and time. But considering recent ideas and approaches is bound to bring a thought-provoking end to our History of Gardens. This ticket link is for the sixth series of 5 talks in our History of Gardens Course at £35 or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8 via the links on the website. (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25). Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. Ticket sales close 4 hours before the first talk.

Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (if you do not receive this link please contact us) and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

Week 2 on May 6 is The Conservation and “Restoration” of Historic Parks and Gardens in the Late Twentieth Century and Earliest 21st Century, a Personal View with John Watkins. In the last few decades, we have seen a renaissance for historic parks and gardens in the UK. The initial stimulus was arguably the Great Storm of 1987. It caused catastrophic damage, with an estimated 15 million trees flattened. But as Historic England later reported, for designed landscapes ‘the alarming destruction was often outweighed by the opportunities for renewal’ as a multimillion-pound landscape rehabilitation program led to turbocharged research and subsequent replanting and restoration. A second factor has been the establishment of the National Lottery in 1994, since when £2.1 billion has been awarded to projects supporting landscapes, parks and nature. A third factor in the renaissance has been a generally buoyant economy with more homeowners becoming interested in gardens and a growing garden tourist economy.

The lecture will provide a personal view highlighting selected ‘restoration’ projects over the last 40 years that have both conserved and rejuvenated many historic gardens and designed landscapes. John Watkins has led the Gardens and Landscape Team in English Heritage for 27 years and will be retiring in July 2025. He is a professional horticulturist with some 47 years’ experience, awarded the RHS Associate of Honour in 2016. He jointly edited and contributed to the English Heritage Manual: The Management & Maintenance of Historic Parks, Gardens & Landscapes (Frances Lincoln, 2007). His experience of high-profile restoration projects includes Chiswick House and Gardens, Down House, Eltham Palace, Wrest Park, Witley Court, Kenilworth Castle, Boscobel House, Audley End Kitchen Garden and Mount Grace Priory. He has recently completed major projects at Marble Hill in London, Belsay Hall in Northumberland. In April 2025 he was appointed as Chair of the Gardens Trust.

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Saturday, May 10, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Glenluce Garden Open Day

Glenluce Garden is a small, personal, and romantic garden in Stow, Massachusetts. Entering by the western gate, you will find yourself on a mound with green paths beckoning in seven directions. Explore these paths to discover a grove of paperbark maples, an island of tree peonies, or a border of fragrant native azaleas. A pergola covered by climbing roses leads to a frog pond shaded by heptacodium and a courtyard with raised vegetable beds. Magnolias, rhododendrons, peonies, and roses abound in Glenluce Garden. The Garden Conservancy Open Day tour takes place May 10 from 10 – 4. $5 for Conservancy members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at www.gardenconservancy.org

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Saturday, May 3, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Gibson House Spring Open House & Costume Exhibit

Celebrate spring with the Gibson House Museum on Saturday, May 3 from 1 – 4. Timed tickets on the half hour at 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm, and 3pm. Reserve your space at https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/

Join us for a self-guided tour and specialty costume exhibition featuring  Victorian fashions that highlight the honored tradition of our local  “Promenade,” a leisurely walk in the Public Garden. Make sure to visit our Victorian-themed photo booth and take your own photo in the elegant setting of the Gibson House. Finish your visit by  enjoying a self-serve buffet of tea and sweets.

Costume exhibition presented in collaboration with the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (NSCDA).

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Friday, May 2 – Saturday, May 31 – Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Wright-Locke Farm is excited to announce an exhibit of farm photography, The photos will be on display in the historic 1827 Barn through May 31. Make Hay While the Sun Shines is a compilation of work from participants in the Farm’s adult photo walks. These talented photographers captured the beauty of our farmstead and the moments nature takes your breath away. The exhibit is free and open to the public during the following hours: Wednesdays through Fridays, 1 – 3, and Saturdays, 10 – 2. A special thank you to the Winchester Cultural Council and Litho-Craft Printing for. helping make this exhibit possible.

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Wednesday, May 14, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Gardens on Film: Filming in Three Gardens, Online

Historic parks and gardens play a frequent – and frequently tantalizing – role in films and on TV. Where is the 18th century landscape that forms the background to scenes in Bridgerton? Which English country estate serves as Paris for both James Bond and Sherlock Holmes? Is that really a world heritage site being flooded for a scene in The Secret Garden?

Join The Gardens Trust on Wednesdays in May for behind-the-scenes at some of the locations used in costume dramas, children’s adventures, murder mysteries and much else. We’ll hear from a location manager on choosing the right gardens for shoots and from a garden historian on films in her own county, as well as the experience of three major players who regularly manage film crews in their historic landscapes – the National Trust, the Royal Parks and English Heritage. This ticket costs £35 for the full series of five talks or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8. To sign up, visit Eventbrite UK HERE. Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk.

The second talk on May 14 will explain how and why the National Trust allows filming in its historic gardens. It will encompass three shoots. First, the classic children’s story, The Secret Garden, the most recent version of which, filmed in 2019, took place in two of our gardens to help create the garden seen on screen. Second, Alice in Wonderland (below) used a garden chosen by the director, Tim Burton, even though the property, Anthony in Cornwall, had never hosted a film before. The third garden, Lamb House, was an example of filming in the actual garden that featured in the Mapp and Lucia books and where the author lived.

Harvey Edgington was London’s first full time Film Officer having created the role at the London Borough of Greenwich. This involved finding locations for films such as Patriot Games and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Directly before joining the Trust, he did similar work for Film London across the capital. Harvey swapped housing estates for country estates by setting up the NT Filming and Locations Office in 2003, a department he has headed up ever since. He has since spoken about his work at industry events in France, Spain, Sweden, Korea, Poland and the UK.

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Tuesday, May 13, 3:00 pm Eastern – Gardening for Wellbeing, Online

Join The Garden Museum online at 7 PM GMT (3 pm Eastern) on May 13 to mark Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May 2025) as we host a panel of speakers to explore a range of personal and professional experiences that demonstrate how gardening positively impacts us.

To those of us who garden and spend time in green space, the positive effects on emotional and mental wellbeing are undeniably clear. Published research articles make clear links between gardening’s ability to support social relationships, moderate stress, reduce anxiety and depression, and improve cognitive function.

Chaired by Victoria Valentine, speakers including psychiatrist and psychotherapist Sue Stuart-Smith, Co-Founder of The Glasshouse, Kali Hamerton-Stove, Specialist Horticultural Instructor at Bethlem Royal Hospital, Sergio Ruano Heredero, and food writer, cook and vegetable grower Kathy Slack will reflect on how gardening positively impacts us all.  Livestream booking: gardenmuseum.org/uk £10

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Saturday, June 7 & Sunday, June 8, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Museum of Old Newbury’s 46th Annual Garden Tour

Come join The Museum of Old Newbury’s 45th Annual Garden Tour, Beyond the Garden Gate, on June 7 and 8 from 10 – 4. This year’s theme is Revolutionary Gardens, an homage to innovative and original elements in our featured gardens. You’ll enjoy access to the best we have to offer, from urban pocket gardens to larger, more formal landscapes.

The 46th Old Newbury Garden Tour occurs rain or shine. It is an inspiration for those ranging from professionals seriously interested in garden design and horticulture to enthusiasts who simply love beautiful gardens.

Tickets are $25 members, $40 non-members; your ticket is good for one or both days. Purchase on Eventbrite HERE. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at 98 High St., Newburyport during the event.

Start at 98 High Street to pick up your garden tour guide, or use the digital guide that you’ll receive by email a week before the event.

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Saturday, May 10, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Clark Gardens Open Day

Clark Gardens in Stow, Massachusetts has been in development for over 30 years. It started serendipitously with a chance encounter at a parent teacher school event, held during the owners’ first winter in Stow, with a local landscape architect, Yurich Fenigsen-Zieba. “When he stated he was a landscape architect, I explained to him my wish to have a waterfall built and the following summer he built a beautiful waterfall with large boulders previously removed from the foundation of our house. And thus began a collaboration which continues to this day.” Over the 30 years, many garden “rooms” have been created culminating with the “woodland garden” which has been developing over the last three years and occupies the last section of the two acres of gardens and lawn available. There has never been a formal “plan” to the gardens. This Garden Conservancy event takes place May 10 from 10 – 4, $10 for nonmembers, $5 for Conservancy members. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/clark-gardens

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Friday, September 26 – Sunday, September 28 – South Coast Harvest Festival: Save the Date

The annual South Coast Harvest Festival will take place at the Westport Fairgrounds Friday, September 26 from 12 – 8, Saturday, September 27 from 10 – 8, and Sunday, September 28 from 10 – 6. Tickets will be available at the gate all three days of the event and are cash only. There will be an onsite ATM. Advance tickets are not available this year. This is a rain or shine event. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids 5 – 12, and free for children under 5. There is ample free parking, but no pets are allowed, except for service animals. For more information visit https://southcoastharvestfestival.com/home

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Sunday, May 18, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm – 2025 Watertown Dam Herring Festival

Join Charles River Watershed Association on May 18 from 11 – 3 for the 2025 Herring Festival! Come and celebrate the annual migration of Alewife, Blueback Herring, and American Shad from the ocean into the Charles River. There will be a community art build, food trucks, and fun activities for all ages. PLEASE NOTE: To find the Festival space, please navigate to Dealtry Memorial Pool Parking. Free. Reserve a spot at Eventbrite HERE.

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