Thursday, March 17
11:00 am
A Horticultural History of Renishaw Hall & Gardens: A Ladew Inspiration
with David Kesteven, Renishaw Head Gardener
Harvey Ladew visited the Sitwell family many times in England at their Renishaw Hall estate and gardens, which greatly influenced his design of our beloved Ladew Gardens. Join Renishaw’s Head Gardener, David Kesteven, for an informative, yet humorous 400-year history of the Sitwell family at Renishaw Hall, a predominately Italianate-garden set in the traditional English countryside. Take a look at two previous gardens, as well as Sir George Sitwell’s 1885 masterpiece, that David still tends today. David has been Head Gardener at Renishaw Hall & Gardens for over 30 years, leading a team of four gardeners and many volunteers. The Gardens won the prestigious Garden of the Year Competition in 2015. For more info, visit https://www.renishaw-hall.co.uk/.
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Thursday, March 24
11:00 am
Delightful Dahlias: From Show Bench to Cut Flower
with Val Bourne, Garden Writer
Join award-winning garden writer, lecturer and organic gardener, Val Bourne, as she shares her passion for dahlias – their history, their versatility and highlights on how to grow the best varieties. Val gardens on the wind-swept Cotswolds at Spring Cottage – high above Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, England. She’s a hands-on gardener and a committed plantaholic. She manages her third of an acre garden without using any chemicals. Her latest book, The Living Jigsaw, explains how it all works. Val is an Ambassador for The Hardy Plant Society and also a long-term member of the RHS Dahlia panel. For more info, visit https://www.valbourne.co.uk/
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Thursday, March 31
4:00 pm
The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature's Great Connectors
with David Haskell, Writer, Biologist and Professor
David Haskell has won acclaim for eloquent writing and deep engagement with the natural world. In this talk he will describe how he has integrated contemplative, literary, and scientific studies of the natural world. What might we learn by paying repeated attention to very small parts of our neighborhoods or forests? David has explored this question by returning again and again to the same one-square-meter of old growth forest in Tennessee, then by repeatedly visiting individual trees in locations around the world. In each place Haskell shows how attention to the sensory richness of place yields insight into both ecology and ethics. David Haskell is a writer and a biologist. His books, The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees are acclaimed for their integration of science, poetry, and rich attention to the living world. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and William R. Kenan Jr. Professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. For more info, visit. https://dghaskell.com/.
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Thursday, April 7
4:00 pm
The Art of Growing Food
with Ellen Ecker Ogden, Garden Designer & Author
A true kitchen garden opens your senses in new ways and is more than a place to grow food. In this lecture, you will discover how to grow an edible garden with an eye towards beauty, productivity, and sanctuary. Based on designs from Ellen’s book, The Complete Kitchen Garden, this lecture will expand your knowledge of the classic design elements that are the basis for European kitchen gardens. As co-founder of The Cook’s Garden Seed catalog, you will learn six steps to successful kitchen garden design based on Ellen’s many years as an artist, a gardener, and as a cook who loves to grow a food garden. Ellen Ecker Ogden is a cookbook author and garden designer from Vermont. In 1984, she co-founded The Cook’s Garden seed catalog to introduce gardeners to the pleasures of growing the best tasting vegetables and herbs. She published her first cookbook in 2003, and now lecture at garden clubs, horticultural symposiums and teach online classes on writing and design. For more info, visit https://ellenogden.com/.
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Thursday, April 14
4:00 pm
Knockout Natives
with Sam Hoadley, Horticulture Research Manager
Join Sam Hoadley as he highlights knockout native species and cultivars from trials at Mt. Cuba Center in northern Delaware. Top performers and favorites of Coreopsis, Baptisia, Monarda, Phlox, Helenium, Echinacea, and wild Hydrangea represent some of the best native plants for the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Sam will discuss their horticultural and ecological performance and will share important information on standouts that will make beautiful additions to your garden. Sam Hoadley is the Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center where he evaluates native plant species, old and new cultivars, and hybrids in the Trial Garden. Prior to working at Mt. Cuba, he was the lead horticulturist for Longwood Gardens’ Hillside Garden. He earned his degree in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture from the University of Vermont. For more info, visit https://mtcubacenter.org/.
THANK YOU TO OUR LECTURE SERIES PARTNER
Muffin & Sam Dell
THANK YOU TO OUR LECTURE SERIES MEDIA PARTNER
