Boston Flora

Tag: Head Gardeners

  • Wednesday, November 22, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Head Gardeners at Historic Sites – Debbie Crombie at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Online

    The Gardens Trust Wednesday webinar series this Autumn will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. This is the first lecture of the second set of five talks, exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage. you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link 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 (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Since this is the final lecture of the series, you may wish to sign up for the single session.

    On November 22, the series wraps up with Debbie Crombie. The gardens at Belsay in Northumberland are largely the work of Sir Charles Monck, who was inspired by Greek architecture and Mediterranean landscapes. Stone for a new house was quarried on the estate and the resultant gorges were set to garden. Formal gardens with arcaded ha-ha and Italianate terracing were built close to the house. The Quarry Garden and Crag Wood were Picturesque in style.

    Charles’ grandson Sir Arthur Middleton extended the formal gardens and overlaid the Quarry Garden with exotic plant introductions. Species rhododendrons from China and the Himalayas thrived in the sheltered microclimate of the quarries, while a three-acre hardy hybrid Rhododendron Garden is now Belsay’s most photographed view.

    More recently, as part of the ‘Belsay Awakes’ Heritage Fund project, Dan Pearson removed opaque, senescent greenery and embroidered the formal gardens with his painterly, naturalistic plantings. This has introduced more biodiversity, whist remaining true to the original design and historic intent.

    Debbie Crombie is Head Gardener and works with a team of seven gardeners to nurture the gardens at Belsay, supported by a group of volunteers from the local community. Debbie was a pharmaceutical scientist before training as a horticulturist and has previously worked in beautiful gardens in the northeast of England, including Blagdon Hall, The Alnwick Gardens, Seaton Delaval Hall and Gibside. Debbie has been at Belsay for under a year and is excited to share the delights of the garden with you.

  • Wednesday, October 25, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Head Gardeners at Historic Sites: Sheila Das at RHS Wisley

    The Gardens Trust Wednesday webinar series this Autumn will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. This is the first lecture of the second set of five talks, exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage. you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link 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 (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    On October 25, join Sheila Das. RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey is the flagship of the Royal Horticultural Society, as well as its oldest and most horticulturally diverse garden. It is also one of the UK’s most visited gardens, attracting about around 1.4 million visitors each year. The gardens are maintained by a team of around 70 permanent staff and a cohort of 33 school of horticulture learners on practical training programs in the garden. The team is supported by over 100 garden volunteers. The garden has expanded hugely to its current size of 185 acres since it was gifted to the Society in 1903. From the start, Wisley has always been about Plantsmanship and experimentation, and it has continued to evolve in accordance with the Society’s needs and in response to the changing environment. RHS Hilltop – the Home of Gardening Science is the newest addition to the site, opened in 2021, alongside three new gardens, a new Welcome building and continued investment into beautiful planting.

    Having changed career in 2006, Sheila Das completed the Kew Diploma and then went on to work for English Heritage at Wrest Park. She is now a Garden Manager at RHS Garden Wisley with responsibility for the garden’s practical training programs, the Members’ Seed Scheme and the Edibles and Wellbeing gardens. Alongside her focus on horticultural education, Sheila has a keen interest in sustainable gardening particularly with relevance to growing food.

  • Wednesday, September 27, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Head Gardeners at Historic Sites: Katy Merrington at the Hepworth Wakefield Garden, Online

    The Gardens Trust will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. Split into two 5-week series on Wednesdays, the season will kick off with an exploration of the head gardener role over the past two centuries, followed by talks exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Join us to learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage.

    At the end of the first series, we will also be offering a FREE roundtable discussion on the different career paths available to head gardeners, and ways of encouraging more people to enter or progress in the profession. Please register separately for this.

    You may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link here. [Gardens Trust members may use their promo code for a discount.] Please register separately for the roundtable discussion, or for individual sessions by following the links HERE. 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. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    At The Hepworth Wakefield, an art gallery and creative space in the heart of Yorkshire, an unused acre of land has recently been transformed into a beautiful, free, public garden, designed by internationally acclaimed landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith. His design draws inspiration from its unusual setting between 19th-century red-brick mills and a 21st-century art gallery, edged by the River Calder. It echoes the striking, angular shapes of the David Chipperfield-designed gallery while harnessing a naturalism that reflects Barbara Hepworth’s deep connection to the landscape. As well as Stuart-Smith’s distinctive planting, there are outdoor sculptures by Sir Michael Craig-Martin, Barbara Hepworth and Kim Lim.

    The garden is cared for by Cultural Gardener Katy Merrington and a team of volunteers and is a much-cherished urban oasis, providing space for events and activities, as well as being rich in biodiversity. Katy will be the September 27 speaker in this series.

    Katy Merrington studied fine art before training as a horticulturist and has previously worked in beautiful gardens across the UK and USA, including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh at Logan, Dumfries & Galloway, Tresco Abbey Gardens, Isles of Scilly and Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, USA. Photo credit: Jason Ingram.

  • Wednesday, September 20, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Head Gardeners at Historic Sites: Graham Dillamore at Hampton Court and Kensington Palace

    The Gardens Trust will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. Split into two 5-week series on Wednesdays, the season will kick off with an exploration of the head gardener role over the past two centuries, followed by talks exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Join us to learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage.

    At the end of the first series, we will also be offering a FREE roundtable discussion on the different career paths available to head gardeners, and ways of encouraging more people to enter or progress in the profession. Please register separately for this.

    You may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link here. [Gardens Trust members may use their promo code for a discount.] Please register separately for the roundtable discussion, or for individual sessions by following the links HERE. 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. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    On September 20 we will hear from Graham Dillamore. Hampton Court and Kensington Palace are two of the six sites run today by the charity Historic Royal Palaces. Hampton Court Palace’s world-famous gardens include 60 acres of spectacular formal gardens and 750 acres (304 hectares) of parkland, all set within a loop of the River Thames. Kensington Gardens began life as a King’s playground; for over 100 years, the gardens were part of Hyde Park and hosted Henry VIII’s huge deer chase. Shaped by successive monarchs, highlights of the 107-hectare site today include Bridgeman’s Serpentine, the Long Water, Italian Garden, the Edwardian sunken garden, and a new wildflower meadow.

    Graham Dillamore is head gardener at Hampton Court and Kensington Palace and has cared for royal gardens for over 40 years. He started his career as an apprentice gardener at London’s Royal Parks, before becoming head gardener at Kensington Palace, and then joining the Royal Household to maintain the private gardens of the Prince and Princess of Wales in the 1980s. After transferring his skills to Hampton Court, Graham worked on several major landscape restoration projects including the recreation of William III’s Privy Garden (below), Home Parks tree avenues, the Royal Kitchen Gardens and more recently, the transformation of the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.