Author Thomas Mickey will speak on his new book America’s Romance with the English Garden in a program co-sponsored by The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, and The Garden Club of the Back Bay. Through a grant from the Smithsonian’s Division of Horticulture Services the author spent a year in Washington exploring the archives at the American History Museum, the Natural History Museum, as well as the Department of Agriculture. The focus of his work was to study the connection between marketing and the garden in nineteenth century America. He began by looking at seed and nursery catalogs from that time, and he never left them. He couldn’t get enough of the catalogs. He loved the language the writers used and the images, but especially what the catalogs taught us about gardening.
The program will be given twice on Wednesday, November 13. The first time will be at 1 pm at The Wellesley College Botanic Garden, and the evening session at 6:30 will be held at the Arnold Arboretum. Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written notice and car pool information. Others may visit the website of The Arnold Arboretum of Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens (links above) to register.
