Boston Flora

Tag: Country Life

  • Tuesday, April 8, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm GMT – The Swimming Pool Garden, Online and Recorded

    Christopher Woodward explores the history of swimming pools as features in the design of private gardens from the 17th-century until 1939. This Garden Museum program will be livestreamed on April 8 at 7 pm – 8 pm Greenwich Mean Time, and I’ll leave it to you to figure out just what that means in your time zone, but you will be able to access the talk after the event with a link which will be sent to registrants. The cost of the livestream is £10. Buy your ticket at https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/product/livestream-christophers-lecture-08-04-25/.

    In this talk, Christopher Woodward will begin by discussing candidates for the earliest swimming pool in Britain, and the distinction between cold bath and swimming pool in the Georgian age; public swimming pools became a phenomenon of the Victorian city but it was not until the Edwardian age that country house gardens gave centre stage to the pool as an ornamental feature.

    The 1920s and ‘30s were the Golden Age of the swimming pool, owing to a heady cocktail of Hollywood movies and Country Life magazine, chlorinated water and elasticated swimsuit – and for the first time men and women swimming together in a fashionable new sport.

    This talk is research in progress by Christopher Woodward, Director of the Garden Museum. Christopher is an architectural historian and a swimmer, who has recently swum 100 kilometres in Greece to raise funds for the new public garden of Lambeth Green. He reviews swimming pools for Country Life, the Telegraph and the Financial Times.

  • Tuesday, October 17 – Monday, November 13 – Celebrating the British Countryside: From the Archives of Country Life, Online

    Delve into the heart of country living as we journey with Royal Oak through the enchanting landscapes, magnificent houses, and breathtaking gardens that epitomize romantic Britain. From the quaint and charming villages with flower filled hedgerows in the Cotswold, to the panoramic views across the Yorkshire dales; from the grand English country houses, to the heather filled Scottish Highlands; each landscape demonstrates the beauty and romance of English countryside living that has captivated Royal Oak members and Anglophiles. For over 125 years Country Life magazine has been renowned for its unparalleled access to castles, palaces, private estates, and the incredible gardens that dot the British countryside.

    John Goodall, Architectural Editor of Country Life for 16 years, will offer an intimate glimpse into the soul-stirring beauty of the English countryside as captured by the lens of Country Life, and immortalized in his latest book published by Rizzoli in 2023. Mr. Goodall will illustrate British houses and gardens, revealing their architectural splendors, and also show the change of seasons across Britain’s landscapes. Rent the recorded lecture for a stunning visual tour of the dramatic scenery as well as the quiet, private country corners of Great Britain. https://www.royal-oak.org/events/fall-2023/country-life/ Royal Oak members $20, nonmembers $30.

  • Tuesday, April 20, 2:00 pm – The Naturally Beautiful Garden: Designs That Engage with Wildlife and Nature, Online

    Drawing from her new book The Naturally Beautiful Garden: Designs That Engage with Wildlife and Nature (Rizzoli, April 2021), Kathryn Bradley-Hole will consider ‘what makes a naturally beautiful garden?’ Interest in growing plants and creating attractive spaces that support pollinators, birds, and other wildlife is a recurrent theme in garden-making today. This online illustrated lecture will be held on April 20 at 2 pm and sponsored by The Royal Oak Foundation. $15 Royal Oak members, $20 general public. Register at https://www.royal-oak.org/events/spring-2021-online/naturally-beautiful-garden/

    Often it goes hand in hand with organic principles that shun the use of short-term, quick-fix chemical solutions. Kathryn will illustrate inspiring contemporary gardens that exemplify these principles from the UK and across the globe.

    These gorgeous gardens are located in a broad variety of climates and feature correspondingly varied flora, which support their local fauna in engaging ways! From 21st century public green spaces to modern cottage gardens, and from large country gardens to intimate city courtyards these gardens benefit people of all ages who use them, bringing the beauties of Nature close to hand.

    Kathryn Bradley-Hole’s distinguished career as a horticultural writer includes 18 years as Gardens Editor of the iconic English weekly magazine, Country Life, between 2000 and 2018. She has authored six books on a variety of garden subjects, including the bestselling BBC “Gardeners’ World” Garden Lovers’ Guide to Britain and Lost Gardens of England from the Archives of Country Life; and English Gardens from the Archives of Country Life Magazine (October 2020).

    A Fellow of the Linnean Society, her personal gardening interests focus in achieving visual harmony with the broader landscape and creating environments that assist wildlife. Her personal gardening interests focus on achieving visual harmony with the broader landscape and creating environments that assist wildlife

  • Sunday, September 11, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – The Gardens of Arne Maynard

    The Gardens of Arne Maynard is the first book on the work of one of the world’s most celebrated and sought-after garden designers working today. Based in Great Britain, Maynard is known for his award-winning gardens at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show and for his many private commissions across the world. Central to his work as a designer is his ability to identify and draw out the essence of a place, something that gives his gardens a particular quality of harmony and belonging. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Gardens Illustrated, The New York Times, Garden Design, The World of Interiors, House & Garden, Country Life, The English Garden, Vogue, and many more. Mr. Maynard will speak at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Sunday, September 11 at 10 am, followed by book signing. Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25. Register online at http://www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Tuesday, July 24, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Gertrude Jekyll and the Country House Garden

    Join author and landscape historian Judith Tankard on Tuesday, July 24 at 4 pm at the Polly Hill Arboretum for this talk about her latest book, Gertrude Jekyll and the Country House Garden. This is the first book in over two decades devoted to one of the most important garden designers of the twentieth century. Gertrude Jekyll laid the basis for modern garden design and is credited with popularizing an informal, naturalistic look in counterpoint to the rigid, formal landscapes of the Victorian era. Also known as a prolific and influential writer, Jekyll contributed more than one hundred articles to Country Life and designed three gardens for the publication’s founder, Edward Hudson. As a result, the Country Life archive has an unrivaled record of her work. Tankard, who has spoken twice in the past for The Garden Club of the Back Bay,  has mined this archive resulting in a treasure trove of text and images showcasing the more than 350 gardens created by Jekyll. Book signing and light refreshments to follow.  $20/$15 for PHA members. Generously sponsored by Donaroma’s Nursery.  Register at www.pollyhillarboretum.org.