Boston Flora

Tag: Beth Chatto

  • Thursday – Saturday, August 27, 28, & 29 – The Beth Chatto Symposium 2026: Connections Through Time

    The 2026 theme of the Annual Beth Chatto Symposium, Connections Through Time, will explore how plants, people and landscapes are shaped by interconnections and temporal relationships, in the past, present and future.

    Over three days, we will he hosting a range of presentations, conversations, discussions and workshops which will encompass new and innovative best practice, science and research within gardening, horticulture, ecology, design and landscaping, highlighting approaches that benefit to the environment, wildlife and humans, and that help confront the challenges of the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and ensure social justice.

    The event takes place at the Ivor Crewe Lecture Theatre at University of Essex, Park Road, Colchester. Full information may be found at https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/symposium/symposium-2026/

  • Thursday, March 16, 10:00 am GMT (but recorded) – C20 Garden Part 2 – Margery Fish and the Cottage Garden Movement, Online

    Created and re-created against the backdrop of cycle of war and peace with its accompanying social and economic impacts, the twentieth century garden pivots between tradition and modernism, informality and structure. The century sees a shift in both style and materials as concrete takes its place at the heart of new towns and spaces, whilst the country house garden struggles to survive and flourish again in a new order. Garden design increasingly reflects the needs of a wider range of society, whilst literary and artistic movements locate gardens at the very heart of the struggle for meaning in a world of change and aspiration. The Gardens Trust series reflects the continuity and change in garden design and understanding through the twentieth century highlighting specific gardens and designers and setting them within more contextual discussions. 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 1 week. Tickets £30 or £5 each. To purchase a ticket for the complete series through Eventbrite, visit HERE. The Gardens Trust has complete details on its website.

    The March 16 talk with the excellent Catherine Horwood centers on Margery Fish. My personal favorite instructional quote from one of Ms. Fish’s books is “First, have your man dig a ditch.” I didn’t have the man to do such a thing, and it was an artifact of an age.

    For many years, Margery Fish fought a lonely battle to revive the popularity of the cottage garden style of planting in an age of close-mown striped lawns and beds of formal floribunda and Hybrid Tea roses. But was cottage garden planting ever a true horticultural style or rather a romantic, bucolic myth? In this talk, Dr Catherine Horwood will look at what constitutes this type of planting, where it originated from and how it links to other gardening styles. She will consider how Margery Fish was able to take it forward into becoming a national movement through her life story, and the legacy she left behind.

    Dr Catherine Horwood is an experienced speaker and the author of many books on social history including Gardening Women. Their Stories from 1600 to the Present (Virago, 2010) and Potted History. How houseplants took over our homes (Pimpernel Press, 2020). Her biography Beth Chatto. A Life with Plants (Pimpernel Press, 2019) was selected as the European Garden Book of the Year in 2020. She is currently working on a biography of Lady Dorothy Nevill.

  • Monday, May 2, 1:00 pm – The History of the Rose, Online

    The rose is the world’s favorite flower and always has been. It is the greatest floral symbol of love and romance the world over and touches people’s hearts at many points in their lives: the flower most often chosen to celebrate significant milestones, such as weddings or anniversaries, and to mark births and deaths. This talk will trace the journey of the rose across the centuries, from battles to bouquets, charting its botanical, religious, literary and artistic history. Dr Catherine Horwood will explore the story of what makes this botanical family so loved: from Cleopatra’s rose-petal-filled bed to Nijinsky’s Spectre de la rose ballet; from the highly-prized attar of rose oil so believed by the ancient Persians to top-brand perfume labels today; and from Shakespearean myths about the Wars of the Roses to the significance of Queen Elizabeth’s I’s embroidered dresses.

    The Gardens Trust in association with the Historic Roses Group presents this online talk on May 2 at 1 pm Eastern time. £5. Register through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-rose-the-history-of-the-rose-tickets-305563497647

    Dr Catherine Horwood is an experienced speaker and the author of many books on social history including Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present (Virago, 2010) and Potted History – How Houseplants Took Over Our Homes (Pimpernel Press, 2020). Her biography Beth Chatto: A Life with Plants (Pimpernel Press, 2019) was selected as the European Garden Book of the Year in 2020. She is also author of Rose (Reaktion Books, 2018), which was described by Gardens Illustrated as ‘a clearly-written, information-packed review of the historical, religious, cultural and artistic significance of the world’s favourite flower’.

  • Thursday, August 30 – Friday, August 31 – The Beth Chatto Symposium: Ecological Planting in the 21st Century

    On 30-31 August 2018 the Beth Chatto Education Trust will host a special gathering of gardeners, designers and plantspeople in honor of Beth Chatto. Join us at the University of Essex as we hear from speakers from around the world who are re-imagining ecological gardening in both design and practice, and working to further advance and expand our plant palette. A private garden party will also be held at the Beth Chatto Gardens and Nursery for our dear friends and fellow gardeners.

    All proceeds from the Symposium will go to support the work of the Beth Chatto Education Trust. The all-star cast of international speakers includes James Hitchmough, Dan Pearson, Cassian Schmidt, Keith Wiley, Marina Christopher, Olivier Filippi, Asa Gregers-Warg, Peter Janke, Taylor Johnston, Peter Korn, Andi Pettis, and Midori Shintani. For complete costs and information visit https://www.bethchattosymposium.com/

    Image result for The Beth Chatto Symposium

  • Monday, June 20 – Tuesday, June 28 – Bressingham England Tour

    Renowned plant expert and garden designer, Adrian Bloom invites Massachusetts Horticultural Society members and friends to join this outstanding trip June 20 – June 28 highlighted by two days at his magnificent Bressingham Gardens. It will be a remarkable opportunity to learn design techniques, plant selection, etc. from one of the foremost horticulturists in the world.

    Adrian, his wife Rosemary, and the Bressingham staff will be providing unprecedented access and inspiring insight into the 17 acres of gardens at Bressingham, England. They are eager for their guests to gain greater understanding of what lies behind the Elm Bank Bressingham garden, and how important its future can be to MassHort’s success. It will be an unforgettable experience, and the visit will be a landmark in the development of the gardens at Elm Bank.

    In addition to Bressingham, other highlights are visits to Beth Chatto’s garden and nursery; the historic city of Cambridge and the Cambridge Botanic Garden; one of the premier plant fairs in the world at Cottesbrooke Hall (pictured below); the Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship garden at Wisley; and Savill Gardens in Windsor. Joe Kunkel and Barbara Emerson are making the arrangements for the tour.

    PRICING DETAILS:

    The tour is priced in English Pounds and is £1300 double occupancy. (As of early December that was about $2000.) The Single Supplement is £267. Air travel is on your own. Breakfast is provided every day in the hotel as well as other meals as described in the itinerary. All tips, garden entry fees, and land travel are included.

    Initial deposit is $250/person and the deadline has been extended to January 31, 2011. Final payment due March 1, 2011. If final payment is not received by March 1, 2011 deposits are forfeited. Deposits will be returned in the unlikely case the minimum number of participants is not reached.

    Checks should be made out to Have Green Thumb and sent to PO Box 304, Manchester, MA 01944. Credit cards will be accepted and processed by the American company, Blooms of Bressingham, NA.  If you would like more information, please contact Barbara Emerson at Barbara@HaveGreenthumb.com.