Boston Flora

Tag: Gardens Trust

  • Tuesday, September 24, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – A History of Gardens 2: Between Kings, Gardens of the Mid 17th Century, Online

    What is a garden? Why were they created as they were? What influences were at play in garden making, and how have gardens evolved and developed over time? These are the questions we will explore as we traverse the history of gardens through the ages.

    Following on from our opening talks on early gardens, this second series will examine how gardens developed during the 17th century. We will explore how exotic plants from around the world started to appear in European gardens, and were captured in botanical art, before the tumultuous impact of the English civil wars on gardens and gardening from the 1640s. The second part of the century saw the rise of extravagant, dramatic styles, now known as baroque gardens and exemplified by the work of André Le Nôtre for the Sun King at Versailles. We will explore these gardens through an analysis of the work of Le Nôtre and his contemporaries in France, and the series will end with a talk scrutinising how the European baroque style played out in England.

    This ticket – purchase through Eventbrite HERE – is for this individual talk and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions via the links below, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire [second] 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.

    After decades of relative peace and prosperity in Britain, the mid 17th century saw the country plunged into civil war, resulting in almost twenty years of turmoil, instability and uncertainty. This talk will examine the effect that this had on gardens as their owners returned – from the wars, from exile, from prison – and retreated to their neglected estates. With no role to play in the new Commonwealth regime, they turned to rebuilding, improving and in some cases, creating wonderful new gardens, such as the ones built by John Evelyn at Sayes Court and Wotton House. These gardens, and the fascinating stories behind them, will be the subject of this talk.

    Dr Jill Francis is an early modern historian, specializing in gardens and gardening in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She has taught history at the universities of Birmingham and Worcester, and still contributes to the programme of activities for both the Centre for Midlands History and Winterbourne House and Gardens. She is currently involved with delivering the online lecture programme for the Gardens Trust, and also works at the Shakespeare Institute Library in Stratford-upon-Avon. Her book, Gardens and Gardening in Early Modern England and Wales, was published by Yale University Press in June 2018.

  • Tuesday, September 17, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern – History of Gardens 2 – Botany and Botanical Art, Online

    The identification, depiction and celebration of plants is a key aspect of garden history, and one in which women have played a particularly important part. This highly illustrated talk will explore the role of female artists in floral and botanic art, focusing particularly on those working in the 17th century, but also looking forward to later artists. It will examine works by both ‘amateur’ and professional female artists including Giovanna Garzonni, Maria van Oosterwijck, Maria Sibylla Merian, Rachel Ruysch, Elizabeth Blackwell, Mary Moser, Mary Delany and Augusta Withers.

    This September 17 The Gardens Trust virtual talk is the second in our online course the History of Gardens 2, on Tuesdays. Sponsored by Wooden Books. Tickets £8 each (GT members £6) Sign up through Eventbrite HERE.

    This ticket is for this individual talk and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire [second] 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.

    Dr Twigs Way is a garden historian, writer and researcher. Much of her work has concentrated on the roles played by women in all forms of garden and plant-related spheres, and she is increasingly fascinated on the overlap between art, fashion, textiles and gardens. Her history of the chrysanthemum in art and culture was published by Reaktion in 2020 following an earlier work on the carnation. Twigs teaches for the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens and, from September 2024, will also be co-Course Director of the MA in Garden History at the University of Buckingham.

  • Tuesday, September 10, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – A History of Gardens 2 – Early 17th Century Plants and Gardens, Online

    This is the first in The Gardens Trust’s online course The History of Gardens 2, on Tuesdays. Sponsored by Wooden Books. Tickets £8 each (GT members £6) Tickets available through 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 will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

    What is a garden? Why were they created as they were? What influences were at play in garden making, and how have gardens evolved and developed over time? These are the questions we will explore as we traverse the history of gardens through the ages.

    Following on from our opening talks on early gardens, this second series will examine how gardens developed during the 17th century. We will explore how exotic plants from around the world started to appear in European gardens, and were captured in botanical art, before the tumultuous impact of the English civil wars on gardens and gardening from the 1640s. The second part of the century saw the rise of extravagant, dramatic styles, now known as baroque gardens and exemplified by the work of André Le Nôtre for the Sun King at Versailles. We will explore these gardens through an analysis of the work of Le Nôtre and his contemporaries in France, and the series will end with a talk scrutinising how the European baroque style played out in England.

    “God Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.” This is the well-known opening line of Francis Bacon’s essay On Gardens, first published in 1625. It sums up the early 17th century’s growing obsession with plants and horticulture. While Continental designers, engineers and sculptors transformed the structure and style of the English garden, plants began to take center stage. They became desirable consumer items, eagerly sought out and highly prized as European exploration opened up the world. At the same time the Worshipful Company of Gardeners chartered by James I helped establish horticulture not only as a profession covering garden making, market gardening and the first proper plant nurseries but as an important contributor to the national economy.

    Dr David Marsh was awarded his PhD in 2005 for a study of the ‘Gardens and Gardeners of Later-Stuart London’ and has been lecturing and supervising research in Garden History ever since. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham and is course director for their MA in Garden History. A trustee of the Gardens Trust from 2016-2023, he helped set up and run the Trust’s on-line lecture program and is the author of a weekly blog about garden history.

  • Tuesday, June 4, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Botanists and Botanical Art: Marianne North, Online

    The Gardens Trust presents a series of three talks on botanists and botanical art across three centuries, exploring people and illustrations that have defined, recorded and celebrated the world of plants in all their distinctiveness and intricacy. We start the series with exciting new research on previously unremarked botanical images on the paneling of a fine Jacobean house in Hampshire. In the second lecture we will examine the extraordinary set of almost a thousand paper collages of exotic plants produced by an 18th century woman of advanced years, before finishing with tales of a Victorian lady traveler who sought out rare plants in their native lands, not to collect – but to paint. Tickets for the three part series may be purchased through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/botanists-and-botanical-art-tickets-834657221217 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 1 week.

    The final lecture on June 4 will focus on Marianne North (1830 – 1890) who lived an unconventional life painting exotic and rare plants in their native lands. Living and traveling with the ‘liberty of a wild bird’ but maintaining the dress and manners of a Victorian lady, the pursuit of plants took her around the world whilst her paintings were destined for Kew. This talk explores Marianne North’s work, her social context and the eventual creation of her gallery at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

    Dr Twigs Way is a researcher, writer and speaker in garden history, fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture of all kinds. Her research reflects that endless curiosity and her books on plants and gardens explore themes of symbolism and meaning, class and gender, art and literature. Currently (2024) delivering a series of talks for the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens on the overlap between garden design and textile fashion through the ages. Image: detail, View of the Jesuit College of Caracas, Minas Geraes, Brazil by Marianne North, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, CC BY-NC-ND

  • Wednesday, May 22, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Bandstands: History, Decline, and Revival

    The People’s Parks are one of the finest legacies of the Victorian age. Designed and bequeathed to the masses as part of a movement encouraging green spaces and recreation, the public park came to symbolize one of the greatest contributions of the era.

    Opened in increasing numbers in the industrious nineteenth century, by the end of the twentieth century many of our parks had become sadly neglected. But today they remain outdoor places for everyone to enjoy, acting as children’s play areas, sports grounds and even concert venues and have grown in popularity since the global pandemic. But what do we really know about them? The Gardens Trust is sponsoring a series of six weekly online lectures with Paul Rabbitts on Wednesdays from April 17 – May 22.

    Buy a ticket is for the entire course of 6 sessions. or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8. [Gardens Trust members may purchase tickets at £31.50 for the series or £6 each talk]. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-tickets-852833737667

    The final talk in this series takes place May 22, an entertaining talk on that icon of public parks – the Victorian and Edwardian bandstand, so common once upon a time. This lecture covers their origins from the mid-18th century Pleasure Gardens to their heyday during the Victorian park making era, and includes the impact of a small number of Scottish foundries, to the plethora of brass bands that grew up across the country. We also cover the subsequent decline post World War Two and why we lost so many of them. Their history is fascinating and covers not just brass bands but also cites Bowie, the Bay City Rollers and Dire Straits as users of these least cynical of public spaces. And what about the recent revival of the bandstand in our public parks? This is a highly illustrative talk that engages many and fascinates the listener and has had excellent feedback from those who have heard it.

  • Tuesday, May 21, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Botanists and Botanical Art: Early Botanists and the Botanical Paintings at Bramshill, Online

    The Gardens Trust presents a series of three talks on botanists and botanical art across three centuries, exploring people and illustrations that have defined, recorded and celebrated the world of plants in all their distinctiveness and intricacy. We start the series with exciting new research on previously unremarked botanical images on the paneling of a fine Jacobean house in Hampshire. In the second lecture we will examine the extraordinary set of almost a thousand paper collages of exotic plants produced by an 18th century woman of advanced years, before finishing with tales of a Victorian lady traveler who sought out rare plants in their native lands, not to collect – but to paint. Tickets for the three part series may be purchased through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/botanists-and-botanical-art-tickets-834657221217 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 1 week.

    On May 21, Anne Benson will speak on Early Botanists and the Botanical Paintings at Bramshill, Hampshire. Bramshill House in north-east Hampshire is one of the largest, surviving Jacobean mansions in England. What is seen today is mostly the work commissioned by Edward, 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth (1556̶ 1665), from between 1605 and 1625. The Grade 1-listed gardens and parkland also contain features from the Jacobean period including walled gardens, avenues and the destination gardens of a maze and a lake with a man-made island. This talk first presents these features and then continues with Ann’s recent research on the botanical images painted on the panelling of a first-floor room in the north-west wing of the house. Previously rarely referenced and under-researched, these surviving botanical paintings are shown to be of international significance in terms of their date of creation, botanical detail, state of preservation and through Bramshill’s historic owners, for associations with the early botanists and horticulturalists of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

    Dr Anne Benson FSA FRHistS is a garden historian specializing in the Tudor and Stuart periods. She is best known for her multidisciplinary research on the ancestral homes of the Dukes of Beaufort, namely Troy House and Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire and on the Jacobean Bramshill estate, Hampshire. Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship funding enabled Ann to research the garden history of Cambridge colleges founded in medieval and Tudor times. Subsequently, she was awarded a Beaufort Fellowship at St John’s College, Cambridge. Ann is a former teacher, director of university post-graduate courses, Arts Society lecturer and Cabinet Office consultant. She continues to lecture for national bodies on garden history research.

  • Wednesday, May 15, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – People’s Parks: Cassiobury, The Ancient Seat of the Earls of Essex, Online

    The People’s Parks are one of the finest legacies of the Victorian age. Designed and bequeathed to the masses as part of a movement encouraging green spaces and recreation, the public park came to symbolize one of the greatest contributions of the era.

    Opened in increasing numbers in the industrious nineteenth century, by the end of the twentieth century many of our parks had become sadly neglected. But today they remain outdoor places for everyone to enjoy, acting as children’s play areas, sports grounds and even concert venues and have grown in popularity since the global pandemic. But what do we really know about them? The Gardens Trust is sponsoring a series of six weekly online lectures with Paul Rabbitts on Wednesdays from April 17 – May 22.

    Buy a ticket is for the entire course of 6 sessions. or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8. [Gardens Trust members may purchase tickets at £31.50 for the series or £6 each talk]. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-tickets-852833737667

    On May 15, we discuss Cassiobury Park. One of the remnants of the great lost estates, Cassiobury Park is now the largest park in Hertfordshire, and the principal park of Watford, covering an area twice the size of Hyde Park. But this is no ordinary park. In 1661, Arthur, the 2nd Baron Capel, was made the Earl of Essex and, by 1668/69, he had moved to Cassiobury. By 1707, Cassiobury was a significant estate, and Charles Bridgeman was employed here in the 1720s. In 1800, the 5th Earl of Essex employed James Wyatt to rebuild the house along with Humphry Repton. The landscape was captured by Turner in many paintings.

    By the beginning of the twentieth century, large areas of the park had been sold off to the council for public parkland. By 1921, the lease was surrendered and, in 1927, Cassiobury House was demolished. Much of the remaining land was bought by the council becoming further parkland for the expanding town. This talk tells the significant story of a remarkable estate, family and park.

  • Tuesday, May 14, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Italian Renaissance Gardens, Online

    This five week online course from the Gardens Trust will be suitable for anyone curious about gardens and their stories – whether absolute beginners or those with some garden history knowledge. Running from April 14 – May 14, the course aims to help participants recognize important eras, themes and styles in mainly British garden history from the earliest times to today, grasp something of the social, economic, political and international contexts in which gardens have been created and find greater pleasure in visiting historic gardens. You can sign up for whole series or dip into individual talks. There will be opportunities to discuss issues with speakers after each talk, and short reading lists for further exploration. The history series will continue with Part 2 in the fall.

    Week Five on May 15 is Italian Renaissance Gardens with Deborah Trentham. This lecture explores the origins of the Italian Renaissance Garden, looking at them within their social and cultural context. We will see how politics, religion, money, art and literature of the time, along with ancient texts helped form and shape them. The gardens were created by Princes, Popes, men of the church, as well as powerful dynasties such as the Medici. Examples will include the Vatican’s Cortile de Belvedere and the Villa Medici as well as others to show how the Renaissance Garden evolved during the period.

    Trained in the history of art, architecture and garden history, Deborah Trentham has been teaching garden history for fifteen years. Formerly a teacher of garden history at Birkbeck (University of London) and Capel Manor College where she also taught the history of architecture, Deborah currently teaches garden design students for KLC School of Design at Chelsea Harbour and Hampton Court Palace, along with lecturing at Imperial College London. Deborah was the Historic Gardens judge for the Society of Garden Designers Awards for five years and has published numerous articles in magazines and periodicals.

    For tickets, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk Ticket holders can join each session live or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25) 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.

  • Wednesday, May 1, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – People’s Parks: Great Designers, Online

    The People’s Parks are one of the finest legacies of the Victorian age. Designed and bequeathed to the masses as part of a movement encouraging green spaces and recreation, the public park came to symbolize one of the greatest contributions of the era.

    Opened in increasing numbers in the industrious nineteenth century, by the end of the twentieth century many of our parks had become sadly neglected. But today they remain outdoor places for everyone to enjoy, acting as children’s play areas, sports grounds and even concert venues and have grown in popularity since the global pandemic. But what do we really know about them? The Gardens Trust is sponsoring a series of six weekly online lectures with Paul Rabbitts on Wednesdays from April 17 – May 22.

    Buy a ticket is for the entire course of 6 sessions. or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8. [Gardens Trust members may purchase tickets at £31.50 for the series or £6 each talk]. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-tickets-852833737667

    Capability Brown, Humphry Repton, William Kent, great landscape gardeners we love and admire. They have designed some of the most impressive landscapes we can still enjoy to this day. Yet most of us will use our local park at some stage. There are 27,000 of them across the UK, and we take them for granted. They are designed landscapes and have emanated from the hands of such people as Joseph Paxton, JC Loudon, John Nash. Yet what about the great municipal designers, nurserymen, parks superintendents, landscape architects such as Sexby, Pettigrew, Sandys-Winsch, Vertegans, Mawson, Marnock, Milner, Kemp and Gibson – so many important parks delivered at their hands – from Birkenhead Park to Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Eaton Park in Norwich to West Park in Wolverhampton – these were great parks delivered to us by great designers.

  • Tuesday, April 30, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Medieval Gardens, Online

    This five week online course from the Gardens Trust will be suitable for anyone curious about gardens and their stories – whether absolute beginners or those with some garden history knowledge. Running from April 14 – May 14, the course aims to help participants recognize important eras, themes and styles in mainly British garden history from the earliest times to today, grasp something of the social, economic, political and international contexts in which gardens have been created and find greater pleasure in visiting historic gardens. You can sign up for whole series or dip into individual talks. There will be opportunities to discuss issues with speakers after each talk, and short reading lists for further exploration.

    Week Three on April 30 is Medieval Gardens with Katie Campbell. Little archaeological evidence remains of the gardens created between the fall of the Roman empire and the rise of the Renaissance a millennium later; luckily, illustrated prayer books and calendars from the period provide lush and detailed images which can teach us much about the medieval garden. While utilitarian plots of the peasantry focused on root vegetables and cereals, religious institutions like the ninth century St Gall monastery provided medicinal herbs and flowers for the altar as well as food for paupers and pilgrims. Meanwhile royals cavorted in pleasure grounds like those at Woodstock where Henry II wooed his mistress amid elaborate labyrinths and water gardens. This talk will explore the range and evolution of the medieval garden.

    Katie Campbell is a writer and garden historian. She lectures widely, has taught at Birkbeck, Bristol and Buckingham universities; she writes for various publications, and leads art and garden tours. Her most recent book, Cultivating the Renaissance (Routledge, 2021) , explores the evolution of Renaissance ideas and aesthetics through the Medici Tuscan villas. Her previous book, British Gardens in Time (Quarto, 2014), accompanied the BBC television series. Earlier works include Paradise of Exiles (Francis Lincoln, 2009), looking at the late nineteenth century Anglo-American garden-makers in Florence, Icons of Twentieth Century Landscape Design (Frances Lincoln, 2006) and Policies and Pleasaunces (Barn Elms, 2007), a Guide to Scotland’s Gardens.

    For tickets, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk Ticket holders can join each session live or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25) 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.