Join The Garden Museum in London online on October 21 at 2 pm Eastern for an inspiring evening with award-winning garden designer Sarah Price, renowned for her painterly planting style and collaborations with artists and architects. Sarah Price – whose Nurture Garden at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show was inspired by Benton End – has been consulting with Head Gardener James Horner on the redesign of the historic walled garden at Benton End.
Once the home of artists Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett Haines, and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, in this special evening talk, Sarah will reflect on how Benton End’s artistic legacy informs her approach, and how gardens can carry forward a spirit of creativity.
Whether you are a gardener, artist, or simply curious about the meeting points of art and landscape, this is a unique chance to hear from one of the most imaginative voices in contemporary garden design. £10 Livestream. Register at www.gardenmuseum.org.uk
The five part Gardens Trust and Garden Museum series on William Andrews Nesfield concludes on October 14 with a round table discussion. This will draw together some of the themes and trends that have emerged from the series, highlight and debate further Nesfield designs, and share ideas for using the archives to re-examine Nesfield’s style, his significance during his lifetime and his legacy today.
Participants will include Ben Dark, author, head gardener, award-winning broadcaster and landscape historian, who gave the keynote talk at the Garden Museum’s launch of the Nesfield archives; Advolly Richmond, plant, garden and social historian, who has studied Nesfield’s designs at Alton Towers; Christina Hourigan, whose doctoral research includes examining Nesfield’s work at Kew; Rob Hillman, archivist at the Garden Museum; and some of the speakers from the earlier sessions in the series.
If you are involved in any way with individual Nesfield commissions (for instance as researcher, guide, gardener or volunteer), we’d be delighted if you’d join this session and share information about your site. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the talk ( and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks. Register HERE.
This October 7 Gardens Trust and Garden Museum online talk, illustrated with plans, drawings and photographs from the RHS Lindley Library will look at the challenges William Andrews Nesfield faced when commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society to design its new garden at the heart of the ‘Albertopolis’ cultural quarter in Kensington. The talk will look at the conflicting agendas and personalities of the many people Nesfield had to work with and the factors influencing the design and planting choices eventually settled on. Although the garden was only in existence for forty years, it had far-reaching consequences for Nesfield, the RHS and horticulture generally.
Fiona Davison has been Head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS since 2012. Prior to that she worked in museums for more than 20 years, including Hackney Museum and the Museum of London. She has published two books on garden history: Hidden Horticulturists: the working-class gardeners who shaped Britain’s gardens (Atlantic Books, 2019) and An Almost Impossible Thing: pioneer women gardeners (Little Toller, 2023). She regularly gives talks on garden history at the Lindley Library and external venues.
This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.
Discover one of England’s most admired historic gardens in this special livestreamed event dedicated to the story of Melbourne Hall Garden. Join The Garden Museum on September 30 at 2 pm Eastern for the launch of the new title Melbourne Hall Garden, with author Jodie Jones, photographer Andrea Jones, and chaired by George Plumptre.
Famed for its sweeping yew tunnel and Robert Bakewell’s extraordinary wrought-iron arbor – the celebrated ‘Birdcage’ that made his name – Melbourne’s garden has changed little since the early 18th century. Yet in the 20th century, it underwent extensive restoration, and under the care of Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr it continues to flourish. Unusual specimen trees, shrubs, and herbaceous borders have been introduced, bringing fresh botanical interest to this classical landscape.
This talk will explore Melbourne Hall Garden’s layered history and celebrate its ongoing evolution. Join us for an evening of history, horticulture, and artistry in one of England’s great gardens. Book the livestream (£10) at https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/product/livestream-melbourne-hall-30-09-25/
Join award-winning garden designer Tom Massey and the Royal Horticultural Society online on October 3 for the launch of his new book, RHS Waterwise Garden: Sustain Your Garden Through Drought & Flood.
Water is vital to a flourishing garden. In Waterwise Garden, multi award-winning garden designer Tom Massey explains how to design a garden that will use water efficiently, withstand drought and mitigate flooding.
With a changing climate, it can be difficult to know how to create a beautiful garden that is fit to thrive in an uncertain future. In this talk, Tom shares practical design and planting tips that will help transform any outside space into a water-absorbing, water-saving haven.
Published in association with the RHS and written in close collaboration with its science team, RHS Waterwise Garden explores why we must value water, how thoughtful garden design can build resilience, and what gardeners can do to be more waterwise at home. From enhancing the permeability of hard surfaces and managing water flow, to selecting plants and features that absorb excess rain, Tom Massey offers innovative solutions for gardens of every size.
This Gardens Trust online talk, presented in conjunction with the Garden Museum, on September 23, will examine the commissions by the 7th Earl of Carlisle for Nesfield to transform the gardens at Castle Howard in the middle of the 19th century. His work included two large fountains, a parterre, and extensions to the south waterways over the course of fifteen years. The copious correspondence in the archives at Castle Howard chronicles these projects, including the disastrous over-run in costs, and the technical challenges for supplying the fountains. Acclaimed in its day, Nesfield’s garden at Castle Howard remains one of his most successful commissions, notwithstanding the alterations in subsequent years. The talk will also draw from Nesfield’s papers formerly in a private family archive and now in the collection of the Garden Museum and assess the present state of knowledge about this major landscape designer of Victorian England.
Christopher Ridgway has been curator at Castle Howard since 1985, and has published widely on its architecture, landscapes and collections, including several essays on Nesfield. He is chair of the Yorkshire Country House Partnership, and adjunct professor in the history department at Maynooth University. His book, Castle Howard, A Grand Tour of England’s Finest Country House will be published in November 2025.
This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. 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 2 weeks. Register through Eventbrite HERE.
This summer, from August 23 through September 7, the Garden Museum presents a special pop-up exhibition in the Magazine Space celebrating the remarkable life and legacy of Rachel ‘Bunny’ Lambert Mellon – renowned garden designer, philanthropist and patron of the arts who shaped some of the 20th century’s most iconic landscapes, including the White House Rose Garden, now destroyed.
In collaboration with the British design house de Gournay and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Bunny Mellon: A Life in Bloom offers a rare glimpse into the world of one of the 20th century’s most influential horticultural figures.
At the heart of the exhibition are exquisite works of art, rare manuscripts and botanical illustrations from Mrs. Mellon’s personal collection – now housed at the Oak Spring Garden Library in Virginia. These treasured pieces served as inspiration for de Gournay’s new hand-painted wallpaper and porcelain collection, which pays homage to Mrs. Mellon’s enduring passion for gardens, craftsmanship and the natural world. To coincide with the exhibition, we’re hosting a special evening on September 2 celebrating the life and legacy of Bunny Mellon.
This special event will include contributions from designer and author Charlotte Moss, whose career spans over three decades and is considered one of the most celebrated and respected interior designers in America. Charlotte will be joined by Sir Peter Crane and Rachel Heslop of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, offering personal insights into Mellon’s visionary world. Discover the story behind her private garden at Oak Spring, her extraordinary botanical library, and the new Bunny Mellon Collection by de Gournay, a tribute in hand-painted wallpaper and porcelain to her love of plants, art, and the handmade.
Join us for a chance to explore how Mellon’s legacy continues to inspire beauty, creativity, and care for the natural world. To book the livestream, visit www.gardenmuseum.org/uk £10. The livestream will be recorded and you may watch on demand.
London’s Garden Museum summer exhibition is open now. Best known for his iconic fashion photography, Cecil Beaton had a bouquet of creative talents: he was also an accomplished costume and set designer for film, theatre and ballet, and a gifted artist. This exhibition is the first to examine the common thread weaving through Beaton’s work: gardens and flowers.
Photographs, paintings, drawings, costume and set design will explore the role flowers played in developing Cecil Beaton’s creative practice; from the lavish floral installations he created for parties with flowers from his own gardens, to painted and fresh flowers used as backdrops for fashion photography and royal portraits, to the famous floral costumes in My Fair Lady.
The exhibit, open through September 21, is curated by Garden Museum Curator Emma House and designed by artist and designer Luke Edward Hall. Can’t get to London? Buy the catalogue. This catalogue accompanying the exhibition includes a foreword by art historian and museum director Sir Roy Strong sharing memories of his lifelong friendship with Beaton, which followed their collaboration on Beaton’s 1968 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, where Strong was then Director.
An essay by Garden Museum Curator Emma House further explores Beaton’s passion for his gardens, with photographs, paintings, drawings, costume and set designs from the exhibition illustrating the role flowers played in developing his creative practice.
Join the Garden Museum online on June 3 for a talk bringing together two leading voices in the world of gardens: acclaimed photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo and celebrated garden designer and writer Tania Compton. They will explore the rose in image-making and landscape design, in famous gardens throughout the world.
After 3000 years of cultivation the rose continues to seduce, and through conversation and exquisite images from Ngoc’s new book, they will discuss and celebrate a flower that has greater variety and popularity than almost any other. Ngoc and Tania will also reflect on the creative process, the power of photography to shape how we experience gardens, and the stories that emerge when design and documentation come together. £10 Livestream Book at www.gardenmuseum.org.uk
Join garden designers Nigel Dunnett and Tom Hoblyn for an exclusive insight into how they created their show gardens for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The livestream will be available May 21 from noon – 1 Eastern, and will be available thereafter on demand. £10 Livestream. Register at www.gardenmuseum.org.uk
Nigel Dunnett is Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture at the University of Sheffield, and a gold-medal winning designer and author. He is one of the world’s leading voices on innovative planting design and ecological horticulture. He’ll be talking about his remarkable sand dune garden which takes its inspiration from the coastal location of charity partner Hospitalfield Arts in Arbroath. The garden interprets this landscape through the eyes of an artist, and creates a dramatic, highly sculptural topography. At the heart of the garden is an outdoor artists’ studio. The planting is resilient and forward-looking, and is established in sand, provoking discussions about trends for planting in low-fertility mineral substrates rather than rich topsoils for climate-adaptation. The garden features a dune pool, which collects rainwater from the studio and the surrounding dunes.
Tom Hoblyn is a RHS Chelsea Flower Show veteran who has created the Hospice UK – Garden of Compassion at the show this week. The garden has been designed for patients and families at the end of life. Drawing from his deep connection to the Mediterranean landscapes he’s explored on plant hunting trips, Tom has crafted a garden that combines the grounding presence of natural stone with the calming effects of drought-tolerant plants. Tom has used materials from the North East of England (as the garden is being relocated to St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham after the Show) and he has worked with extraordinary artisans on the sculptural benches and water features, to make a garden that aims to support both the emotional and physical needs of those in hospice care.
