Boston Flora

Tag: Gardens Trust

  • Tuesday, May 6, 7:00 am – 8:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Conservation and “Restoration”, 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.

    Week 2 on May 6 is The Conservation and “Restoration” of Historic Parks and Gardens in the Late Twentieth Century and Earliest 21st Century, a Personal View with John Watkins. In the last few decades, we have seen a renaissance for historic parks and gardens in the UK. The initial stimulus was arguably the Great Storm of 1987. It caused catastrophic damage, with an estimated 15 million trees flattened. But as Historic England later reported, for designed landscapes ‘the alarming destruction was often outweighed by the opportunities for renewal’ as a multimillion-pound landscape rehabilitation program led to turbocharged research and subsequent replanting and restoration. A second factor has been the establishment of the National Lottery in 1994, since when £2.1 billion has been awarded to projects supporting landscapes, parks and nature. A third factor in the renaissance has been a generally buoyant economy with more homeowners becoming interested in gardens and a growing garden tourist economy.

    The lecture will provide a personal view highlighting selected ‘restoration’ projects over the last 40 years that have both conserved and rejuvenated many historic gardens and designed landscapes. John Watkins has led the Gardens and Landscape Team in English Heritage for 27 years and will be retiring in July 2025. He is a professional horticulturist with some 47 years’ experience, awarded the RHS Associate of Honour in 2016. He jointly edited and contributed to the English Heritage Manual: The Management & Maintenance of Historic Parks, Gardens & Landscapes (Frances Lincoln, 2007). His experience of high-profile restoration projects includes Chiswick House and Gardens, Down House, Eltham Palace, Wrest Park, Witley Court, Kenilworth Castle, Boscobel House, Audley End Kitchen Garden and Mount Grace Priory. He has recently completed major projects at Marble Hill in London, Belsay Hall in Northumberland. In April 2025 he was appointed as Chair of the Gardens Trust.

  • Wednesday, May 14, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Gardens on Film: Filming in Three Gardens, 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.

    The second talk on May 14 will explain how and why the National Trust allows filming in its historic gardens. It will encompass three shoots. First, the classic children’s story, The Secret Garden, the most recent version of which, filmed in 2019, took place in two of our gardens to help create the garden seen on screen. Second, Alice in Wonderland (below) used a garden chosen by the director, Tim Burton, even though the property, Anthony in Cornwall, had never hosted a film before. The third garden, Lamb House, was an example of filming in the actual garden that featured in the Mapp and Lucia books and where the author lived.

    Harvey Edgington was London’s first full time Film Officer having created the role at the London Borough of Greenwich. This involved finding locations for films such as Patriot Games and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Directly before joining the Trust, he did similar work for Film London across the capital. Harvey swapped housing estates for country estates by setting up the NT Filming and Locations Office in 2003, a department he has headed up ever since. He has since spoken about his work at industry events in France, Spain, Sweden, Korea, Poland and the UK.

  • Tuesday, April 29, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – A History of Gardens: Modernism – The Recent Past

    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.

    Talk 1 on April 29 is Modernism, with Katie Campbell. Modernism was a short-lived fashion in British horticulture which left a long legacy. Provoked by the horrors of the First World War, Modernists rejected traditional styles and methods, and sought a new, nonaligned, universal approach. Renouncing vernacular and historical references, they promoted an international style which was as comfortable in the Greek islands as in the Scottish Highlands. While eschewing metaphor and allusion, it embraced machine-age mass production and modern materials, used plants architecturally to create clearly delineated spaces, and was more interested in texture and form than color. Its focus on simplicity, functionality and monumentality still infuse contemporary British garden design.

    Katie Campbell lectures widely, has taught at Birkbeck, Bristol and Buckingham universities, 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’s Tuscan villas. Previous publications include British Gardens in Time (Quarto, 2014), Paradise of Exiles: The Anglo-Florentine Garden (Francis Lincoln, 2009), Policies and Pleasaunces (Barn Elms, 2007), and Icons of Twentieth Century Landscape Design (Frances Lincoln, 2006). Image below: High and Over, Amersham, ©Mary Casserley: marycasserley.com

  • Wednesday, May 7, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Gardens on Film: From Script to Screen, Unveiling the Art of Finding and Managing Filming Locations, 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.

    The first talk on Wednesday May 7 is Gardens on Film, From Script to Screen. In this talk, Jenni Lewis will take you on a journey through the entire filming process, from script to screen, revealing how the perfect locations are discovered, chosen, and brought to life on set. She’ll share insider insights into managing complex shoots in outdoor and historic spaces, offering a glimpse into the meticulous planning and problem-solving behind the scenes. With a focus on the mutual benefits between filming and the locations themselves, this session will showcase the hidden magic that turns real-world places into unforgettable cinematic backdrops. Prepare for a deep dive into the world of location scouting and management—where creativity meets logistics in some of the most beautiful places.

    Jenni Lewis is a seasoned Location Manager whose 18 years in the UK film industry have shaped the landscapes of iconic productions like Bridgerton, Matilda: The Musical, Belfast, Downton Abbey, The Secret Garden, Red Joan, and Howards End. Specializing in large-scale shoots in gardens and public spaces, Jenni brings a wealth of experience in navigating both the logistical and creative challenges of location management.

  • Wednesday, April 9, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Artists’ Gardens: Derek Jarman’s Garden, Online

    Plants and gardens have long served as a creative inspiration for artists. They are places of color, structure and changing light, representations of memories and emotions, expressions of the cycle of life and the passing of time. When the garden is one created by the artist themself, the scope for exploration and engagement intensifies and, whether garden-lover or art-lover, we are drawn in to their stories and meanings. In this four-part series, The Gardens Trust will explore a range of gardens created and celebrated by their artist owners. 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 (available for 2 weeks) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE

    The garden at Prospect Cottage on Dungeness Point was created in the late 1980s by the maverick, controversial, supremely talented theater director, filmmaker and gay rights activist, Derek Jarman. The garden, built on a flat, desolate expanse of shingle in the shadow of the Dungeness nuclear power station, almost defies our definition of a garden: it has no borders and no boundaries. Yet Jarman created a wonderfully artistic landscape from stones, shells and driftwood scavenged from the beach, along with old tools, discarded rusty objects and an improbable array of indigenous and introduced plants. The result was a garden of ethereal beauty, and it still remains, 30 years after Jarman’s death, for us to explore, and to marvel at.

    Jill Francis is an early modern historian, specialising in gardens and gardening in the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries, although she makes occasional forays into later gardens when they spark her interest – as here! She has taught history at the University of Birmingham and the University of Worcester and still contributes to the MA program on West Midlands History at Birmingham. She is an occasional lecturer in a variety of garden history groups and associations and is now particularly involved with the Gardens’ Trust online program, both as a speaker and as a volunteer. She 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 (2018).

    Image: Derek Jarman’s Cottage and Garden, photo ©Jill Francis

  • Wednesday, April 2, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Artists’ Gardens: Painters in their Places, Online

    Plants and gardens have long served as a creative inspiration for artists. They are places of color, structure and changing light, representations of memories and emotions, expressions of the cycle of life and the passing of time. When the garden is one created by the artist themself, the scope for exploration and engagement intensifies and, whether garden-lover or art-lover, we are drawn in to their stories and meanings. In this four-part series, The Gardens Trust will explore a range of gardens created and celebrated by their artist owners. 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 (available for 2 weeks) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE.

    Gardens, fashions, sculpture and antique culture meet and mix as we move between France, Spain, Italy and England with artists who both recorded and, in the case of Sorolla and le Sidaner, created gardens. The third artist is John Singer Sargent. On April 2 we will examine the concepts of the role of gardens in art and culture more generally as exampled and contrasted by these three artists.

    Twigs Way is a garden historian, writer and researcher fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture of all kinds. Her talks reflect themes of, class and gender, politics, art and literature along with the quirky and unusual. Twigs is Course Director of the MA/PhD in Garden History at Buckingham University and an accredited Arts Society lecturer. Her history of the Chrysanthemum in art and culture was published by Reaktion (2020) and the new edition of A History of Women in the Garden was published by Bloomsbury (2023). Image: Les Jardins Henri Le Sidaner, Gerberoy, photo ©Twigs Way

  • Tuesday, April 1, 9:00 am – 10:30 am Eastern – Beatrix Farrand: Garden Artist, Online

    The Arts and Crafts Movement sought a return to vernacular traditions in the face of increasing industrialization. It thrived for two decades or so around the turn of the twentieth century, although its effect is still obvious today in many decorative arts. In the garden, the movement was most clearly articulated through the work of William Robinson (1838-1935) and Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932). Their example was followed by a plethora of British architects and designers into the middle of the 20th century and beyond, and their influence spread to Europe, the US and further afield. What we today identify as Arts and Crafts gardens are perhaps typified by a geometric layout of compartments in close relationship with the house, alongside the use of architectural features in local materials and abundant, color-themed planting.

    In this series, we will examine the origins of the Arts and Crafts garden, consider the work of Robinson and Jekyll in detail, and survey some of the many other British garden-makers who were influenced by the movement. The series will end with an international flavor, exploring the work of an American designer who was a life-long admirer of Robinson and Jekyll.

    This ticket is for this individual talk (Click HERE) costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire fifth 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. Ticket sales close 4 hours before the talk.

    Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk (If you do not receive this link, please contact us). A link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

    The final talk in this series will be given by The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s own Judith Tankard. Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959) was one of the first landscape architects in the United States. She began her practice in the 1890s and retired in 1950. During these years she had a thriving practice with a broad range of important clients, including Mildred Bliss at Dumbarton Oaks, her most famous commission. She was a life-long admirer of Gertrude Jekyll and William Robinson. In the 1950s, she acquired Jekyll’s archives of plans and photographs which she subsequently donated to the University of California, Berkeley, where they can be studied today.

    Judith B Tankard is a landscape historian and preservation consultant. She received a M.A. In Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University and taught at the Landscape Institute of Harvard University for over 20 years. She received a Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and was recently named an Honorary Member of the Garden Club of America. She is the author of twelve prize-winning books on landscape history, including Beatrix Farrand: Garden Artist, Landscape Architect (The Monacelli Press, 2022) and Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement (Harry N Abrams, 2004, revised 2nd ed Timber Press, 2018). She also writes articles and book reviews for Hortus. She lives in the Boston, Massachusetts, area and has a small garden on Martha’s Vineyard. Her new book Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood, with co-author Martin Wood, is scheduled for publication in Spring 2025.

    Image: Beatrix Farrand’s cool borders at Garland Farm, photo ©Judith Tankard

  • Tuesday, March 18, 6:00 am – 7:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Gertrude Jekyll: Artist, Gardener, Craftswoman

    The Arts and Crafts Movement sought a return to vernacular traditions in the face of increasing industrialization. It thrived for two decades or so around the turn of the twentieth century, although its effect is still obvious today in many decorative arts. In the garden, the movement was most clearly articulated through the work of William Robinson (1838-1935) and Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932). Their example was followed by a plethora of British architects and designers into the middle of the 20th century and beyond, and their influence spread to Europe, the US and further afield. What we today identify as Arts and Crafts gardens are perhaps typified by a geometric layout of compartments in close relationship with the house, alongside the use of architectural features in local materials and abundant, color-themed planting.

    In this series, we will examine the origins of the Arts and Crafts garden, consider the work of Robinson and Jekyll in detail, and survey some of the many other British garden-makers who were influenced by the movement. The series will end with an international flavor, exploring the work of an American designer who was a life-long admirer of Robinson and Jekyll.

    This ticket is for this individual talk (Click HERE) costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire fifth 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. Ticket sales close 4 hours before the talk.

    Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk (If you do not receive this link, please contact us). A link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

    Talk 3 takes place March 18 with Dr. Caroline Ikin. Gertrude Jekyll has been described as a ‘one-woman Arts and Crafts Movement’, her contribution spanning the decorative arts as well as gardening. Her approach was founded on an appreciation of local tradition, vernacular architecture, hand-making and floral beauty, and was informed by the works of Ruskin. Jekyll is celebrated for her garden designs, plant breeding and particular brand of ‘artist-gardening’ which she expounded in her many books and articles, but she was also a skilled artist, maker and designer. This talk will focus on Jekyll’s garden at Munstead Wood where her arts and crafts ethos achieved full expression, and will also explore her activities in decorative art, conservation and collecting.

    Dr Caroline Ikin is a Curator at the National Trust covering Munstead Wood, Standen and Nymans. She has previously worked in museums and for the Gardens Trust and her research interest is in nineteenth century art, architecture and gardens. She is author of The Victorian Garden (Shire Library, 2012), The Victorian Gardener (Shire Library, 2014), The Kitchen Garden (Amberly Publishing, 2017) and has written for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Garden History, Furniture History, Museums Journal and various other publications, and is now working on a new book on Victorian Gardens. She was awarded the Mavis Batey Essay Prize in 2022.

    Image: below detail, Michaelmas daisies, Munstead Wood, from George S. Elwood and Gertrude Jekyll, Some English Gardens (1904), Biodiversity Heritage Library, public domain

  • Wednesday, March 26, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Eastern – Artists’ Gardens: Gardens of the North American Impressionists

    Plants and gardens have long served as a creative inspiration for artists. They are places of color, structure and changing light, representations of memories and emotions, expressions of the cycle of life and the passing of time. When the garden is one created by the artist themself, the scope for exploration and engagement intensifies and, whether garden-lover or art-lover, we are drawn in to their stories and meanings. In this four-part series, The Gardens Trust will explore a range of gardens created and celebrated by their artist owners. 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 (available for 2 weeks) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE.

    North American Impressionists were inspired by what was happening in European art. In 1872 American artist William Merritt Chase told the New York Times ‘My God, I would rather go to Europe than go to Heaven!’ Philadelphia’s 1876 World’s Fair Centennial International Exhibition inspired the quest for ‘olden tyme’ plants and poetry, fulfilled by Childe Hassam’s muse, the poet Celia Thaxter on Appledore Island. Parallels can be drawn between Monet at Giverny and the gardens created by John Henry Twachtman at Greenwich, Connecticut and the Cos Cob and Old Lyme Art Colonies in the same state. In 1893 Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition which featured the mural Primitive Woman by Mary Fairchild MacMonnies facing Modern Woman by Mary Cassatt. Gardens and children were ingeniously combined by Cassatt and Canadian Impressionist Helen MacNicoll. Tired of narrow artistic traditions at home, three generations of American artists including Frederick Frieseke travelled to Monet’s Giverny to live, or lodge at the Hotel Baudy.

    Caroline Holmes is a University of Cambridge ICE Academic Tutor and Course Director; has lectured in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe and Japan as well as for cruises crossing the Baltic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Red Seas, and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Author of 12 books including Monet at Giverny, Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac, the genius behind Monet’s water lilies; and Impressionists in their Gardens, she is a consultant designer specialising in evoking historic, artistic and symbolic references, and contributes to Viking TV. Her website is https://horti-history.com. Image: detail, On the Terrace by John Henry Twatchman (c.1890-1900), Smithsonian American Art Museum, public domain

  • Wednesday, March 19, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Eastern – Artists’ Gardens: Monet at Giverny, Online

    Plants and gardens have long served as a creative inspiration for artists. They are places of color, structure and changing light, representations of memories and emotions, expressions of the cycle of life and the passing of time. When the garden is one created by the artist themself, the scope for exploration and engagement intensifies and, whether garden-lover or art-lover, we are drawn in to their stories and meanings. In this four-part series, The Gardens Trust will explore a range of gardens created and celebrated by their artist owners. 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 (available for 2 weeks) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register through Eventbrite HERE.

    The first session takes place March 19. In 1883 the painter Claude Monet moved into a new home, Le Pressoir in Giverny. Below the house he created gardens whose colours vibrantly or contemplatively evolved under the Normandy skies. Initially he painted the rural motifs of the poplars and grain stacks and then, until his death in 1926, he devoted himself to the floral canvas of his own making. Botanically and horticulturally skilled, Monet grew the latest in irises and water lilies, watching them as the day reflected its course in their shapes, moments captured for eternity in over 500 paintings. The landscapes of Japanese ukiyo-e (floating world) woodblock prints fed into Monet’s sense of perspective and use of plants. The meticulous restoration of Giverny in the 1970s provides the canvas to explore the man, his paintings and his gardens. We will also briefly compare these gardens with Le Jardin Monet Marmottan in Japan.

    Caroline Holmes is a University of Cambridge ICE Academic Tutor and Course Director; has lectured in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe and Japan as well as for cruises crossing the Baltic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Red Seas, and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Author of 12 books including Monet at Giverny, Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac, the genius behind Monet’s water lilies; and Impressionists in their Gardens, she is a consultant designer specialising in evoking historic, artistic and symbolic references, and contributes to Viking TV. Her website is https://horti-history.com