Boston Flora

Tag: Gardens Trust

  • Wednesday, October 22, 1:00 pm Eastern – Craze for Collecting: Sir Joseph Banks

    Were they intrepid explorers and suppliers of beauty and scientific advancement, or imperialist plunderers and destroyers of fragile environments? The reputation of plant-hunters as brave adventurers tracking down botanical wonders has taken something of a battering in recent years. Make your own mind up about their role and continuing importance as The Gardens Trust shares some plant-hunter stories in this new five part series. Learn about the exploits of the late-18th century ‘father’ of modern plant-hunting and the adventures of a once-celebrated woman who led botanical expeditions to the Andes. Hear tales from those who’ve followed in the footsteps of famous collectors, revisiting the native habitats of exotic plants which are now staples in the British garden, and ponder on ideas about the very different role of collectors today in plant conservation and public education. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. Register through Eventbrite HERE. 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.

    This talk will explore the plant-hunting escapades of Joseph Banks (1743 – 1820) and how from these he developed a new plant-hunting paradigm. It will explain this new approach and introduce some of ‘his’ plant-hunters, their works and discoveries.

    With a degree in horticulture and a Ph.D. in garden history, both from Reading University, Toby Musgrave is an independent scholar, lecturer and author specialising in garden and plant history. His fifteenth book will be published by Phaidon in Spring 2026. Toby lives in Denmark where he gardens one of the historic De Runde Haver. He is also a submersible pilot.

    For more information, please visit https://www.TobyMusgrave.com/

  • Wednesday, October 15, 1:00 pm Eastern – Craze for Collecting: She Sleeps on a Volcano! Online

    Were they intrepid explorers and suppliers of beauty and scientific advancement, or imperialist plunderers and destroyers of fragile environments? The reputation of plant-hunters as brave adventurers tracking down botanical wonders has taken something of a battering in recent years. Make your own mind up about their role and continuing importance as The Gardens Trust shares some plant-hunter stories in this new five part series. Learn about the exploits of the late-18th century ‘father’ of modern plant-hunting and the adventures of a once-celebrated woman who led botanical expeditions to the Andes. Hear tales from those who’ve followed in the footsteps of famous collectors, revisiting the native habitats of exotic plants which are now staples in the British garden, and ponder on ideas about the very different role of collectors today in plant conservation and public education. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. Register through Eventbrite HERE. 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.

    Amongst the famous plant-hunters that Britain produced the name of Dora Stafford is ignored. Yet, in the 1930s she managed a syndicate of wealthy collectors and botanical gardens to fund her expeditions to the Andes mountains, in southern Peru. Miss Stafford’s plant-hunting exploits made sensational headlines in newspapers and amazed readers in society magazines. A plant catalogue card from Highdown Gardens sparked a three-year investigation by the speaker into related archival materials: letters, newspapers and 90-year-old pressed flowers. Each piece contributing to a larger historical jigsaw of the remarkable Miss Stafford. Discover her other surprising horticultural/botanical links with Enfield, Kew Gardens and the alpaca trade from Arequipa in Peru. This is a work in progress.

    After 20 years working in museum exhibitions, Hamish MacGillivray became a curatorial freelancer evolving into a story hunter. He now helps volunteer groups in south-east England discover hidden stories in archives or museum stores. He became fascinated exploring links between horticulture, botany and social history when working at Great Dixter House and Gardens and later for the National Trust (Chartwell), Highdown Gardens and Cranleigh Heritage Trust.

    For more information, please visit https://www.acmemuseumservices.co.uk/about/

  • Tuesday, October 21, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Building the C18th Garden

    The 18th century landscape is viewed by many as being the pinnacle of English garden design. From its early Arcadian experiments and passion for all things classical, through to the vast and minimal landscapes of Capability Brown and his contemporaries, the gardening century was brought to a close with conflicting appeals for rugged wildness and domestic prettiness.

    In a new five part series sponsored by the Gardens Trust, Dr Laura Mayer will explore some of the themes and trends that emerged during the century, with a particular focus on the role of art, antiquity and architecture in shaping 18th landscape designs. The series is designed to pick up on themes and ideas not covered in any depth in last year’s introductory course on the History of Gardens – and so may appeal whether or not you joined us for the earlier series. The ticket for the entire series costs £35 for the 5 sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8. [Gardens Trust members £26.25 or £6 each]. To register through Eventbrite, click HERE. 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.

    Week 1 on October 21 is Imagining Arcadia: The Early English Landscape. During the first part of the eighteenth century, the garden underwent a gradual transformation from geometric formalism to pastoral Arcadian idyll. This shift in landscaping style mirrored the political, intellectual and stylistic revolutions of the century, as authoritarianism was rejected in favor of something looser and more natural. Yet this complex and fascinating period of British garden history is frequently raced through, in a bid to reach the perceived apex of the style, and the minimal designs of Lancelot Brown and his contemporaries.

    This lecture focuses on the early informal landscape and considers the fledgling ‘rural gardening’ style and ferme ornée promoted by men like Philip Southcote and Alexander Pope. It highlights the ingenuity of Stephen Switzer, who believed that the extortionate upkeep of geometric, axial designs could be solved simply by laying the whole country open to view. This notion ultimately transformed the way landscape was viewed forever and encouraged every designer from Batty Langley to William Kent to embrace informality and build increasingly less structured gardens.

  • Tuesday, October 14, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – From the Archives: William Andrews Nesfield, Reconsidered

    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.

  • Tuesday, October 7, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Accessing the Archives: William Andrews Nesfield and Kensington Garden

    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.

  • Tuesday, September 30, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Accessing the Archives: William Andrews Nesfield and Witley Court

    This September 30 talk sponsored by the Gardens Trust and the Garden Museum will chart the creation of Nesfield’s grand parterres at Witley Court in the 1850s for William Ward, later Earl of Dudley, and their subsequent long period of decline following the sale of the property, a devastating fire and the systematic dismantling of the estate. In 1984 Witley Court came under the guardianship of English Heritage, who buried the remaining parterre to deter further removals. Following local campaigns, the grand Perseus and Andromeda fountain was restored in 2002 with an HLF grant, which also purchased land reuniting the formal and informal parts of the landscape. The lecture will detail further research and reconstructions that have revealed Nesfield’s intentions.

    John Watkins led the Gardens and Landscape Team in English Heritage for 27 years, retiring in July 2025. He is a professional horticulturist with some 47 years’ experience, awarded the RHS Associate of Honour in 2016. As well as Witley Court, John has led high-profile restoration projects at Chiswick House and Gardens, Down House, Eltham Palace, Wrest Park, Kenilworth Castle, Boscobel House, Audley End Kitchen Garden and Mount Grace Priory. In April 2025 he was appointed as Chair of the Gardens Trust.

    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. Register through Eventbrite HERE.

  • Tuesday, September 23, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Accessing the Archives: William Andrews Nesfield and Castle Howard

    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.

  • Tuesday, September 16, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Accessing the Archives: William Andrews Nesfield

    This five-part Gardens Trust online series is presented in partnership with the Garden Museum, to celebrate the Museum’s acquisition of the archives of the eminent landscape designer William Andrews Nesfield (1793–1881). The extensive papers were previously held by the designer’s descendants in Australia.

    A former soldier and skilled watercolorist, Nesfield was the first to describe himself as a landscape architect. He designed over 250 sites, characterized by formal, Italianate parterres, grand fountains and intricate statuary near the house, with more naturalistic landscapes beyond. By 1840 the gardening journalist JC Loudon was praising his painterly landscape designs as so successful ‘that his opinion is now sought out by gentlemen of taste in every part of the country.’ With changing fashions, his popularity fell away – but the acquisition of his archives gives us chance to consider again the artistry of his style and the significance of his designs.

    Four talks, rich with archive material, will explore some of Nesfield’s most important commissions across the country. The series will conclude with a roundtable discussion reconsidering Nesfield, and how his archives can help us dig deeper into his importance and relevance today.

    The first talk on September 16 will explore both the creation of the Avenue Gardens at Regent’s Park (1863-65), still sometimes known as the Nesfield Gardens, and their restoration, undertaken by the Royal Parks in 1993-96.

    William Andrews Nesfield laid out the formal Avenue Gardens in the south-east corner of Regent’s Park in 1863-64, within the broader John Nash landscape of the park. He worked in conjunction with two of his sons – William Eden who, as architect, designed a gardener’s lodge on the edge of the gardens, and Arthur Markham, who prepared the planting plans and implementation of the works. Within a few years the design was hailed as ‘among the most popular and attractive gardens in the public parks of the metropolis… tastefully embellished with flowers and ornamental-leaved plants.’ Of all the London parks, it was ‘the great show-place for flowers.’

    Following a period of drift and decline, the Royal Parks commissioned Land Use Consultants in the mid-1990s to research and prepare designs for the restoration of the Avenue Gardens, based closely on Nesfield’s original plan of 1863.

    Lecturer Richard Flenley was a Principal and later Chair of Land Use Consultants [LUC] from 1970 until formal retirement in 2011. He led a wide range of planning and design projects including as an advisor to the Royal Parks. Since nominal retirement, he has focused mainly on voluntary work including trusteeships at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing, 2014-18; the Quadrangle at Shoreham, Kent, 2007-19; and at Kelmarsh Hall, Northants, where he was also Chair of trustees up to July 2023. He is currently a Board Member of the Royal Parks Guild and an advisor on the Gardens Committee for the Crown Estate Paving Commission.

    This ticket (register HERE) is for this individual session and costs £8, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £35 via the link here. (Gardens Trust members £6 or £26.25). Ticket sales close 4 hours before the first talk.

    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, June 4, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Gardens on Film: The Most Filmed County in England, Online

    Historic parks and gardens play a frequent – and frequently tantalizing – role in films and on TV. Where is the 18th century landscape that forms the background to scenes in Bridgerton? Which English country estate serves as Paris for both James Bond and Sherlock Holmes? Is that really a world heritage site being flooded for a scene in The Secret Garden?

    Join The Gardens Trust on Wednesdays in May for behind-the-scenes at some of the locations used in costume dramas, children’s adventures, murder mysteries and much else. We’ll hear from a location manager on choosing the right gardens for shoots and from a garden historian on films in her own county, as well as the experience of three major players who regularly manage film crews in their historic landscapes – the National Trust, the Royal Parks and English Heritage. This ticket costs £35 for the full series of five talks or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8. To sign up, visit Eventbrite UK HERE. Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk.

    Buckinghamshire has been described by VisitEngland as the ‘most filmed county in England’. The range of productions in which the county’s historic parks and gardens can be seen is certainly extraordinary, ranging from the perhaps predictable Midsomer Murders and a number of James Bond films, to the less expected, such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Home to 46 registered parks and gardens, including Stowe, West Wycombe and Cliveden, Buckinghamshire does have some fabulous material on which to draw. This June 4 talk will identify some of the many film locations across the county, and explore the featured gardens, along with some garden history and wider context to this county that’s always ready for its close-up.

    Dr. Victoria Thomson’s professional background is in town planning and historic conservation, and her work has included stints in local and national government, a government agency, academia, and the third sector. Her personal and research interests are very much focused on historic parks and gardens, and particularly on their protection. A trustee of the Gardens Trust, and a member of the Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust, she’s been interested of late in how often her home county appears on screen.

  • Tuesday, May 27, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern – Spirit of Place at Great Dixter, Online

    The Gardens Trust’s final series of A History of Gardens will consider developments of the recent past. Starting with the arrival of the sleek, functional style of Modernism after the first world war, the talks will move on to explore contemporary thinking on the challenges of conserving and restoring historic parks and gardens, the rise of ecological perennial planting, the reappearance of allusive gardens and how a garden’s ‘spirit of place’ can guide sustainable plans for the future.

    Themes and exemplars in garden-making are more difficult to identify without the benefit of distance and time. But considering recent ideas and approaches is bound to bring a thought-provoking end to our History of Gardens. This ticket link is for the sixth series of 5 talks in our History of Gardens Course at £35 or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8 via the links on the website. (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. Ticket sales close 4 hours before the first talk.

    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.

    The final talk on the series on May 27 is Spirit of Place at Great Dixter with Fergus Garrett. Great Dixter is a vibrant, pioneering and immersive Grade 1 garden, originally home to the great gardener and garden writer Christopher Lloyd, with a 15th century house restored by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is in the vanguard of ornamental planting, gardening for biodiversity and horticultural education. In this talk, head gardener Fergus Garrett will discuss how understanding the spirit of Dixter – exploring the site’s history, sense of place and famed creativity – is helping him and his team map a sustainable way forward for this historic garden in the face of the climate emergency and loss of biodiversity.

    Fergus Garrett has held the position of Head Gardener for the internationally acclaimed Great Dixter Garden in Northiam, East Sussex, UK since 1993. After Christopher Lloyd’s death in 2006, Fergus took over the position of CEO of The Great Dixter Charitable Trust.