Join The Garden Conservancy on October 7 for a virtual roundtable discussion to celebrate the publication of The Contemporary Garden (Phaidon, 2025) with a panel of designers and garden experts featured in the book. Spanning the late twentieth century to the present, The Contemporary Garden showcases 300 stunning gardens, from roof gardens to wildflower meadows, each celebrated with a large-format image and an insightful description that will deepen the reader’s understanding of the creator’s work. Organized alphabetically by designer, this stunning book celebrates the visual beauty and creativity of gardens and demonstrates how our evolving stylistic and horticultural aesthetic fosters an increasingly strong connection with the natural world. Curated in collaboration with an international team of horticultural experts, this wide-ranging collection includes established and lesser-known designers, capturing the global rise of garden design and offering a rich source of inspiration. Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-contemporary-garden-10-7-2025
A new, motivated generation of garden makers are just as, if not more, concerned with ecology as aesthetics. This might require that we accept a wider definition of “garden”, and a broader sense of what beauty can be, but the reward for embracing a different ethos is a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with the little world outside your back door. These gardens are a good news story to give us hope, as well as dynamic works of art and activism, science and sustenance. They offer a glimpse of what’s possible, a brighter future, and a gentle plea for nature.
The Garden Conservancy presents a webinar on October 21 from 2 – 3 with Stephanie Mahon. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-new-beautiful-10-21-2025
STEPHANIE MAHON is Editor of Gardens Illustrated and host of the Talking Gardens podcast. Twice winner of the Garden Journalist of the Year Award, she previously edited The English Garden magazine and the Society of Garden Designers’ Garden Design Journal. She is author of several books, including Wild Gardens: Inspired by Nature for the National Trust.
Sleepy Cat Farm embodies the vision of Fred Landman who, since acquiring a Georgian Revival house and six acres of neglected grounds in Greenwich, CT, has transformed his property into a magical thirteen-acre landscape that serves as a testament to his belief in the harmony between house and garden. This four-part Virtual Program, which began with two episodes in the spring and summer, continues to explore the evolution of Fred’s vision from 1994 to today. It tells the story of how the talented architects, horticulturists and artisans he collaborates with have married landscape and architecture to create a series of highly personal sanctuaries. Fred delights in sharing these spaces with hundreds of visitors every year.
The Garden Conservancy’s series on Sleepy Cat Farm resumes October 2 at 2 pm Eastern. Horticulturist Alan Gorkin discusses how his role in the garden expanded as the garden itself evolved. Alan came to Sleepy Cat Farm’s expanded greenhouses and vegetable gardens in 2008, after working at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Cranford Rose Garden, and as head grower and cutting garden supervisor for Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island. For a while he was the garden’s only full-time employee; a landscaping service managed the overall maintenance program. It wasn’t long before Fred Landman recognized that Alan’s talents could be utilized in a broader capacity. Fred put Alan in charge of a handpicked staff and oversight of the landscaping service and let Alan build on the bones of the garden that he and landscape architect Charles Stick created. Drawing partly on lessons from Charles and partly on his own horticultural expertise, Alan complemented the garden’s pathways, vistas and architecture with unique plantings until his retirement last year. His longtime contributions to the garden underlie much of Sleepy Cat Farm’s magical charm.
$5 for Garden Conservancy members. $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-sleepy-cat-farm-part-iii-10-2-2025. Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar.
John Custis IV, in addition to being a member of the political elite and the first father-in-law of Martha Washington, was the creator of one of the most renowned colonial gardens of the early eighteenth century. The four-acre garden was said to contain gravel paths, topiary, hundreds of native and imported plant varieties, and statues. While his correspondence with gardening luminaries such as Peter Collinson revealed much about the plants, the appearance and layout remained a mystery—until now. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation concluded a five-year archaeological excavation to uncover this important lost landscape. We will explore the evidence to discover the design for the garden, revealing a truly baroque layout.
JACK GARY is Executive Director of Archaeology for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He leads a team of archaeologists, curators, and scholars to reveal the hidden stories of Williamsburg’s past. He is the former Director of Archaeology and Landscapes for Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.
The Garden Conservancy will present a webinar on September 25 at 2 pm with Jack Gary. Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-john-custis-9-25-2025
The fall season of virtual programming from The Garden Conservancy begins September 9 at 2 pm Eastern. Pieter Estersohn will address the current pulse point of farming in the Hudson River Valley. He will speak about the diverse populations entering the field and the varied business models being introduced, or in many cases, reintroduced to the area by farmers who must exercise tactics based in being hyper-present in order to stay profitable within ethical parameters. Thirty-five farms will be covered, each offering insight into the challenges and rewards inherent in farming in 2025.
PIETER ESTERSOHN is a photographer and author who has worked on over 60 books covering design, architecture, and now agriculture. He is on the Advisory Council with The Magazine Antiques and is a frequent contributor to The World of Interiors.
Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. $5 Conservancy members, $15 general public. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/web25-back-to-the-land-9-9-2025
The Garden Conservancy’s Hampden and Hampshire Counties Open Day will take place August 16.
Rock Valley Paradise in Holyoke includes a small orchard of fifteen fruit trees—apples, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, and cherries. The berries include blueberries, goji berries, elderberries, raspberries and blackberries and black, red, and champagne currants. The ‘Concord’ grapes provide lots of juice for the winter months. Seasonally the owners grow all kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, eggplant, and all the other “regular veggies.” The homestead also boasts two dairy goats, a dozen chickens, and two hives of honey bees.
Thayer Garden in Hadley is centered around a 1747 farmhouse and an 1884 barn, with phlox, iris, daylilies, peonies, lilacs, and wisteria.
Contrary to what many people have traditionally believed, insects are at the heart of a successful garden. This two acre garden in Lincoln, forty years in the making, has from the start considered attracting – and providing for – insects as key to a successful horticultural venture. Birds, mammals, amphibians -and humans- have been the ancillary beneficiaries of this endeavor. The Garden Conservancy will host this two hour Digging Deeper event on September 13 beginning at 10 am. Registrants will be sent the exact address. Visit https://gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/digging-deeper-gardening-to-create-an-insect-sanctuary
$30 Garden Conservancy Members | $40 General. Digging Deeper events sell out quickly so early registration is recommended.
The Garden Conservancy is sponsoring a Zoom on July 31 – register HERE. On the occasion of his long-awaited debut book about his pre-eminent landscape design firm in the North Shore of Chicago, Open Days Garden Host Craig Bergmann and his Head Gardener Russell Buvala will discuss their company’s process of design, installation, and maintenance. Additionally, they will highlight a few of their favorite garden profiles and personal garden experiences. For more than four decades, Bergmann has been recognized for establishing a true dialogue between the garden and the architectural site. Revered as a plantsman, Bergmann layers his designs with vibrant blooms and textured foliage. The Art of Fine Gardening features twenty gardens that span his career and are located in the North Shore. A special chapter is dedicated to the Gardens at 900, the historic estate designed by architect David Adler, which he developed and reimagined as a series of lush private garden rooms with hedges, towering topiary, and perennial borders, interspersed with classical figures and ornament.
With a passion deeply rooted in the harmony of design and nature, Craig Bergmann’s award-winning work is a testament to his skill, innovation, and commitment to sustainability. At the heart of his practice is a profound respect for the natural world, seamlessly integrated with the architectural heritage of each space. Russell Buvala has been Head Gardener for Craig Bergmann Landscape Design Inc. for the last 37 years. As Head Gardener, he oversees the company’s garden care division, leading a team of gardeners and florists in the stewardship of over 150 gardens throughout the Midwest.
Participants in this webinar have the option to purchase a copy of the book, The Art of Fine Gardening: Craig Bergmann Landscape Design, and receive complimentary admission to the webinar. Price ($60 public, $50 Garden Conservancy Members) includes book, free shipping, and webinar admission.A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. The recording link will expire after 30 days. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar.
If you’d like to purchase webinar admission only, please click here.
The Garden Conservancy will host an Open Day in Essex County on July 26, featuring three gardens in Marblehead and Salem. $10 entrance fee for each garden for general public. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days
Jesta in Marblehead is a seaside garden, just a few feet above high tide, with stunning views of the open ocean, faces nearly constant wind and salt. The garden challenges are enormous, but understanding small differences in microclimate is helpful. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to success is finding plants that can grow in these harsh conditions. Despite a limited planting palette, there are numerous interesting shrubs, perennials and annuals that are utilized to great effect. This is a relatively new garden, just four years old, so creating garden rooms for entertainment and learning what works is an ongoing process.
Seaside Farm (below) is a two-acre site on Peach’s Point overlooking Doliber Cove, and has a rich garden history. During the early 1900s it was an Italianate formal garden with pools, formal rose garden, and statuary, part of an enormous estate owned by yachtsman Francis Crowninshield and his heiress, historical preservationist wife, Louise du Pont Crowninshield. The current owners bought the property with its overgrown and neglected gardens in 1996. Three years later, after discovering the property’s rich landscape history, the owners hired Doug Jones from Boston’s LeBlanc Jones Landscape Architects to restore the gardens. Based on period black-and-white photographs from 1937, new replicated iron railings were installed, caved-in concrete pools were rebuilt, and old roses were planted to recreate the garden. The original house no longer exists, thus certain landscape transitions presented challenges that have been handled delicately. The new house sits on the water, and the gardens surrounding it have been done in a more contemporary style. The property has some enormous beeches that date to the original period.
Renaissance Italy is a garden nestled among the dense period homes located at the northern edge of Salem’s famed McIntire Historic District. This delightful urban garden of only 2,049 square feet immediately transports the visitor out of 18th century Salem into Renaissance Italy through the use of interlocking garden rooms; multiple east/west and north/south axes; multiple tall mature arborvitaes; dense yew and boxwood hedging; ingenious brick and granite paving and changes of level throughout; water features with vintage millstone fountains; a 6,700-pound, four-foot-diameter brownstone column base from an early 19th century Greek Revival Salem Theater (which forms the centerpiece of one of the garden rooms); a new raised mahogany deck and dining area overlooked by a magnificent antique terra cotta Green Man fountain within an arched brick enclosure; and a profusion of vintage cast iron and terra cotta building fragments providing accents of instant antiquity, punctuated by the owners’ collection of antique Italian terra cotta pots bulging with flowers throughout. All in all, a magical space for alfresco dining, entertaining, reading, relaxing, or quiet introspection!
Designed to honor the lives and legacies of the African diaspora, the African Ancestors Garden at the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC, integrates cultural symbolism, native plants, and evocative spatial forms. This Garden Conservancy talk on July 17 by Walter Hood examines the creative process behind this living memorial, highlighting how history and memory are embedded within the design to foster reflection, healing, and connection. Through its layered narratives and immersive experience, the garden creates a contemplative space that bridges past and present while inspiring dialogue about identity, heritage, and community.
WALTER J. HOOD, a multidisciplinary designer from Charlotte, NC, is globally recognized for his contributions in art, landscape architecture, urbanism, and research. Founding Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA, in 1992, he now leads as its creative director. His passion for landscape and urbanism emerges from its broad, democratic scope, allowing experiences beyond architectural constraints. Infusing African American cultural arts into his philosophy, he has established a unique voice, reshaping spaces to reflect contemporary needs without erasing their history. A professor at UC Berkeley and former Harvard educator, Walter penned Black Landscapes Matter and has received accolades such as the 2019 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2021 Architectural League’s President’s Medal award, and the 2024 Vincent Scully Prize.
