Author Barbara Paul Robinson will speak at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on November 11 from 1 – 2 on her new book Heroes of Horticulture: Americans Who Transformed the Landscape. Here are the vibrant stories of eighteen contemporary heroes of horticulture – institution builders, plant explorers and garden creators who have all had a major impact on the American landscape. Three of them established The Garden Conservancy. Others worked to revitalize and establish botanical and other exceptional public gardens. Some intrepid plant explorers (one with a Tower Hill connection) have even traveled to remote parts of the globe to bring back and disseminate plants unknown in the West. Over the course of their careers, these heroes have worked to preserve and enhance our public spaces, setting new standards for aesthetics and encouraging wider public participation. Whether you work the soil or not, you’ll read their stories with a sense of wonder and admiration, and there’s a good chance you’ll derive some practical horticultural benefits from their passion, their lives and their work.

During a sabbatical from the leading international law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton where she was the first woman partner, Barbara Paul Robinson worked as a gardener for Rosemary Verey at Barnsley House. A hands-in-the-dirt gardener herself, she and her husband have created their own gardens at Brush Hill in northwestern Connecticut, featured in articles, books and television. Her first book was Rosemary Verey: The Life and Lessons of a Legendary Gardener (Godine 2012). A frequent speaker, Barbara has published articles in the New York Times, Horticulture, Fine Gardening and Hortus; she has also written a chapter in Rosemary Verey’s The Secret Garden.

$10 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.