Caroline Ikin

Tuesday, March 18, 6:00 am – 7:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Gertrude Jekyll: Artist, Gardener, Craftswoman

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The Arts and Crafts Movement sought a return to vernacular traditions in the face of increasing industrialization. It thrived for two decades or so around the turn of the twentieth century, although its effect is still obvious today in many decorative arts. In the garden, the movement was most clearly articulated through the work of William Robinson (1838-1935) and Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932). Their example was followed by a plethora of British architects and designers into the middle of the 20th century and beyond, and their influence spread to Europe, the US and further afield. What we today identify as Arts and Crafts gardens are perhaps typified by a geometric layout of compartments in close relationship with the house, alongside the use of architectural features in local materials and abundant, color-themed planting.

In this series, we will examine the origins of the Arts and Crafts garden, consider the work of Robinson and Jekyll in detail, and survey some of the many other British garden-makers who were influenced by the movement. The series will end with an international flavor, exploring the work of an American designer who was a life-long admirer of Robinson and Jekyll.

This ticket is for this individual talk (Click HERE) costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire fifth series of 5 talks in our History of Gardens Course at £35 via the link here. (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 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 (If you do not receive this link, please contact us). A link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

Talk 3 takes place March 18 with Dr. Caroline Ikin. Gertrude Jekyll has been described as a ‘one-woman Arts and Crafts Movement’, her contribution spanning the decorative arts as well as gardening. Her approach was founded on an appreciation of local tradition, vernacular architecture, hand-making and floral beauty, and was informed by the works of Ruskin. Jekyll is celebrated for her garden designs, plant breeding and particular brand of ‘artist-gardening’ which she expounded in her many books and articles, but she was also a skilled artist, maker and designer. This talk will focus on Jekyll’s garden at Munstead Wood where her arts and crafts ethos achieved full expression, and will also explore her activities in decorative art, conservation and collecting.

Dr Caroline Ikin is a Curator at the National Trust covering Munstead Wood, Standen and Nymans. She has previously worked in museums and for the Gardens Trust and her research interest is in nineteenth century art, architecture and gardens. She is author of The Victorian Garden (Shire Library, 2012), The Victorian Gardener (Shire Library, 2014), The Kitchen Garden (Amberly Publishing, 2017) and has written for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Garden History, Furniture History, Museums Journal and various other publications, and is now working on a new book on Victorian Gardens. She was awarded the Mavis Batey Essay Prize in 2022.

Image: below detail, Michaelmas daisies, Munstead Wood, from George S. Elwood and Gertrude Jekyll, Some English Gardens (1904), Biodiversity Heritage Library, public domain

Thursday, March 30, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Standen and the Beales: an Expression of Arts and Crafts, Online

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Standen’s garden was created around the house designed by Philip Webb for the Beale family in 1894. Webb laid out the garden in keeping with the arts and crafts ethos of the house, but the planting reflects the middle-class artistic taste of Margaret Beale, an amateur gardener who recorded her successes and failures over nearly fifty years in her garden diary. This March 30 Sussex Gardens Trust talk will examine the origins of the garden and its development in the context of arts and crafts principles, and will consider the recent restoration of the garden by the National Trust.

Dr Caroline Ikin is a Curator at the National Trust with a specialism in garden history. She has previously worked in museums and for the Gardens Trust and her research interest is in nineteenth century art, architecture and gardens. Caroline is author of The Victorian Garden (Shire, 2012), The Victorian Gardener (Shire, 2014), The Kitchen Garden (Amberley, 2017), and is currently working on a new survey of Victorian gardens to be published by Bloomsbury and the National Trust. Caroline has written for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Garden History, the National Trust Cultural Heritage Magazine, Museums Journal and various other publications, and was awarded the Mavis Batey Essay Prize in 2022. She has lectured widely, including for the Gardens Trust, V&A, Watts Gallery, Sussex Gardens Trust, Oxford University, and Furniture History Society, as well as presenting conference papers. Her PhD thesis, titled ‘Reading Ruskin in the Garden: the designed landscape at Brantwood 1871-1900’, explored John Ruskin’s garden through the lens of his late published works.

The lecture will be presented on Zoom. Registrants will receive a Zoom link ahead of the lecture, and a recording will be available for one week following the talk. £5.00 Register HERE.

Thursday, November 10 – The 19th Century Garden Part 2 – Exploring the Arts and Crafts Garden at Standen, Online

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The Arts and Crafts was an ethos rather than a style, and it is therefore difficult to define in simple terms. Taking the example of Standen in West Sussex, a garden created in harmony with Philip Webb’s designs for the house, this lecture will examine how the Arts and Crafts was manifest in gardens, both in planting and in design, and will look at the work of amateur gardeners as well as professionals. The relationship between gardens, architecture and interior design will be explored through the lens of the remarkably complete example at Standen. The influence of key figures such as William Morris, John Sedding and Thomas Mawson will be assessed, as well as their legacy in the twentieth century in the work of designers such as Gertrude Jekyll and Nora Lindsay.

Dr Caroline Ikin is a Curator at the National Trust, with a portfolio including the gardens at Standen and Nymans. She has previously worked for the Gardens Trust and is a writer specialising in C19 art, architecture and gardens. Caroline is author of The Victorian Garden (Bloomsbury, 2012), The Victorian Gardener (Bloomsbury, 2014), The Kitchen Garden (Amberley, 2017), and is currently working on a new survey of Victorian gardens to be published by Bloomsbury and the National Trust. She regularly contributes book and exhibition reviews to various publications, while her PhD thesis examined the designed landscape created by John Ruskin at Brantwood. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £5. Register on Eventbrite HERE. 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.

Thursday, September 29, 5:00 am – The 19th Century Garden – The Wild Garden: William Robinson and Alfred Parsons, Online

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The Gardens Trust six part series of lectures on the Victorian Garden continues on September 29 with an online talk by Caroline Ikin on The Wild Garden: William Robinson and Alfred Parsons. The gardener and journalist William Robinson gave voice to the movement towards informality in gardens in the second half of the nineteenth century, promoting the embellishment of woodland to add interest and color, and the creation of naturalized wildflower meadows. His advice was underpinned by the principle of positioning plants in situations where they would naturally flourish. The idea of wild gardening was not concerned with a return to nature; although endorsing the use of wildflowers, Robinson also promoted the introduction of hardy exotics. Art still triumphed over nature in the wild garden, as exemplified in Robinson’s manifesto The Wild Garden, first published in 1870. Subsequent editions included nearly a hundred illustrations by Alfred Parsons, an artist and garden designer, many of them depicting plants from Robinson’s own garden at Gravetye in Sussex. This lecture will assess the impact of Robinson’s and Parson’s contribution to garden theory, through an examination of their writing, art and garden design.

Dr Caroline Ikin is a Curator at the National Trust, with a portfolio including the gardens at Standen and Nymans. She has previously worked for the Gardens Trust and is a writer specializing in nineteenth century art, architecture and gardens. Caroline is author of The Victorian Garden (Bloomsbury, 2012), The Victorian Gardener (Bloomsbury, 2014) and The Kitchen Garden (Amberley, 2017), and regularly contributes book and exhibition reviews to various publications. Her PhD thesis examined the designed landscape created by John Ruskin at Brantwood. £5 each or all 6 for £30. Register on Eventbrite HERE.