Monday 20 July 2015

Decision time, summer exhibitions, and prize-winning photographs

It's decision time.  Last year, the Garden History Society and the Association of Gardens Trusts voted in principle, to a merger of the two organisations. The final decision will be made during the AGMs of the two organisations at Newcastle University on Friday 24 July.

Members of a Transitional Committee have been working on the documentation needed before a decision can be made and the next step taken.  All the material can be viewed on a temporary website
http://www.agt-ghstogether.org/

Congratulations and a welcome are due in both organisations.  Congratulations to Dominic Cole (Chairman of the Garden History Society) for the OBE he received for services to garden conservation.  The big welcome goes to Caroline Ikin, the Association of Gardens Trusts' new Historic Landscape Officer.

You can find information about the counties in which Caroline is working at http://www.gardenstrusts.org.uk/hlp.html.  At the same time, catch up on the latest material available at the Historic Landscape Project Resource Hub.  It's easy to access and there's a mass of information to help County Gardens Trusts with their conservation work - everything from recruiting volunteers to understanding and preparing conservation management plans.

Equally easy to access is the recently created County Gardens Trust email discussion group.  Thank you Linden and Caroline for giving members a simple way to converse and to share news.  59 members and growing…

copyright Liz Ware
There's an unusual exhibition to enjoy at the Garden Museum this summer - Gnome and Away: Secrets of the Collection.  It marks both an ending and a beginning in the life of the Museum. The builders move in on 2nd November and its transformation into an even more exciting exhibition and education space will begin. This latest exhibition gives us a taste of what is to come.

'Gnome and Away' will include over 100 artefacts never displayed before.  As Christopher Woodward writes in the latest Garden Museum Journal, 'It gives a first glimpse of the collection that will go on display in the five new galleries that will open to the public early in 2017'.

From William Robinson's cloak to a slide box belonging to nurseryman and plant hunter, Peter Veitch, there's plenty to intrigue any gardener - and might even entice a non-gardener. http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/page/gnome-away-secrets-of-the-collection

Slightly further north, Compton Verney's summer 2015 exhibition 'The Arts and Craft House, is running until 13 September, 2015.  Part of the project is a recent commission by landscape designer Dan Pearson - to transform the West Lawn into a wild-flower meadow mown with a William Morris design.  It's a design that will develop and diversify in the years to come.

The commission is important for many reasons, not least because Dan is the first garden designer to have worked on the grounds at Compton Verney since Capability Brown.  Gary Webb, Compton Verney's Head of Landscape and Gardens, includes a video clip in his latest blog showing the way in which the clever design has been brought to life.  https://comptonverneylandscapegarden.wordpress.com/

Is a prize-winning photograph the result of technical know-how? Or does it also depend on a deep understanding of the subject matter? Many County Gardens Trust members will certainly have the latter when it comes to Capability Brown and his landscapes.  As part of the tercentenary Festival, International Garden Photographer of the Year has joined forces with the National Trust to present a special award - Capability Brown Today.  Keen photographers, whether amateur or professional will find details here http://www.capabilitybrown.org/news/international-garden-photographer-year-capability-brown-special-award

Friday 5 June 2015

Chelsea Fringe, healthy gardens, Capability Brown Festival and a new banknote

This year's Chelsea Fringe may be drawing to a close but there are still plenty of events to enjoy - and not just in London.  http://www.chelseafringe.com/tag/chelsea-fringe-2015/   The fun started for Chelsea Fringe Henley almost three weeks ago with a gloriously sunny Floral Flotilla along the Thames.  If the forecast is to be believed, we'll finish with an equally sunny family and community day at Bosley Patch.                        http://www.chelseafringe.com/events/category/uk/henley-on-thames/



As always, the start of the Chelsea Fringe coincided with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It was encouraging to see the link between gardening and health being explored even more this year.  Garden designer and member of the Landscape, Gardens and Health Network, Juliet Sargeant, did a brilliant job working with the teams at Gardeners World and at Chelsea to publicise the importance of nature and gardens for our health.

It's crucial for the future of our parks and green spaces that both policy makers and members of the public grasp the message. It's easy for those of us who are immersed in the gardening world to think that it's common sense, but there are still plenty of people who don't spend much time outside. It's far more difficult for them to appreciate the link. The more media coverage the subject gets, the better.

The National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces now has over 5,000 Friends Groups registered - groups of people who want their local green spaces to be appreciated and protected.  The Federation's goal is to have a Friends Group for every one of our 27,000 urban green spaces. Do you know a park with a Friends Group who have yet to sign up?  http://www.natfedparks.org.uk/membership-1.html

Does Capability Brown deserve a place on the back of the new £20 note?  We have a few weeks left to consider - the deadline for nominations is 19th July.  There's a link on the Capability Brown Festival website and plenty of other Brown related news and events to catch up on too. http://www.capabilitybrown.org/news/capability-brown-next-ps20-note

Masses of opportunities for being outside and making the most of the good weather. A few dates for your diary:

 6 - 7 June, Bristol's Clifton and Hotwells' 2nd Open Gardens Weekend  http://www.cliftonhotwells.org.uk/greensquare.html

13-14 June, Open Garden Squares http://www.opensquares.org/

24 July - 2 August, Love Parks Week http://www.loveparks.org/home/1816

22 September, The AGT and Avon Gardens Trust Study Day, in conjunction with the GHS
'Lancelot 'Capability' Brown at Kings Weston: A Re-assessment Exploring his Legacy of Comfort and Elegance'



Monday 13 April 2015

Museums, Parks and Capability Brown

Plenty of exciting things going on this month, not least that Capability Brown Festival 2016 has been awarded £911,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund  http://www.capabilitybrown.org/news/heritage-lottery-fund-awards-capability-brown-festival-ps911000-grant - don't forget to sign up to the website to keep up to date as events develop.  If you are in and around London it's worth finding the time to visit two garden-related exhibitions that have just opened.

Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden runs at the Royal Collection until October http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/exhibitions/painting-paradise-the-art-of-the-garden-bp, while the Garden Museum's Education of a Gardener: The Life and Work of Russell Page is open until 1st June http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/page/russell-page-03-15-06-15.  In different ways and for different reasons, both exhibitions make very positive contributions to the future of garden history.

The Garden Museum's exhibition gives us a tantalising glimpse of the archive recently deposited by the children of Robert and Jelena de Belder - close friends of Russell Page.  Choose a quiet time to visit and enjoy having the space to really immerse yourself in the material on display.  Then re-read your copy of The Education of a Gardener with fresh eyes.

Think about the privilege and pleasure it must have been for all those involved with curating the exhibition. And of course, of the future generations of students, scholars and garden historians who may, in time, be able to access this wonderful resource.

Perhaps there will be a few more garden historians around the world in years to come as a result of Painting Paradise? This new exhibition shows us the rich variety of 400 years of horticultural art in the Royal Collection.

(copyright Liz Ware)
The paintings are impressive: from the magnificence of Leonard Knyff's View of Hampton Court Palace to the delicate beauty of Leonard da Vinci's seed heads.  But what struck me above all else was the breadth and depth, not only of the Royal Collection, but also of the subject with which we are involved.  Could there be an exhibition about anything other than horticulture that could transport us from the sublime to the practical and back again, and sometimes within the same exhibit?

Look out for Henry VIII's copy of Ruralia Commoda with its tips for growing giant leeks; the recently restored 18th century Sunflower Clock; and Queen Victoria's fuchsia inspired jewellery, adorned with her daughter's milk teeth.

It's good to think that by the time the exhibition ends in October, some visitors will have taken away with them a new curiosity about horticulture having experienced a little of the role it has played in our political and social history.

Lastly, but with great urgency, don't forget to sign the 'Save our Parks' UK petition before the General Election on 7th May.  If you've already done so, please pass on the link to someone who hasn't.  We wouldn't have the urban green spaces we enjoy today if it hadn't been for the efforts of previous generations.  Now it's our turn! https://www.change.org/p/save-our-parks-protect-and-invest-in-the-uk-s-public-green-spaces?recruiter=113025150&utm_campaign=mailto_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition




Wednesday 4 March 2015

Time to wake up?


(Copyright Liz Ware)


Spring is on its way and
The Association of Gardens Trusts 2015 Yearbook is hitting the bookshelves of County Gardens Trust (CGT) members around the country.  In this year's lead article, Chris Beardshaw writes about the responsibility we all have to present and explain our heritage gardens and landscapes to a new generation.  The CGT articles that follow show the many creative ways in which we are taking that responsibility very seriously.

There's the Surrey Gardens Trust's development of  'Gateway' visits http://www.hha.org.uk/learning-and-outreach-2/heritage-for-all/gateways-gardens-trust.html; London Parks & Gardens Trust's collaboration with the Duke of Northumberland and his team at Syon Park; and Hertfordshire Gardens Trust's ground-breaking collaboration with the Woodland Trust at Tring Park. http://www.hertsgardenstrust.org.uk/index.html

From Somerset Gardens Trust's work with schools to Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust's Research and Recording project to record Aylesbury Cemetery, it's difficult to believe that such a wide variety of successful projects has been created - and all by volunteers.

Gilly Drummond (AGT President and Chairman of CB300 Project Management Board) also brings us up to date with news about Capability Brown Festival 2016.  How exciting that Alan Titchmarsh will be presenting a three-part series on Brown at Belvoir Castle for Channel 4.  How wonderful that so many events are being planned to tempt urban audiences to explore Brown's landscapes. http://www.capabilitybrown.org/event/capability-brown-festival-design-ideas-competition

The opportunities for waking people up, not just to Brown, but to all our historic landscapes and the  wellbeing we experience when we're in the natural world, are growing by the day.  Perhaps this is just the right time for the UK based and multidisciplinary Landscape, Gardens and Health Network to make an appearance?

Last year's Symposium on 'Healthy Landscapes' held at the Garden Museum was inspirational.  But, despite its fascinating content and excellent speakers, it seemed to me that something crucial was missing.  While the positive effects of landscape on our minds and bodies had comprehensive coverage, our spiritual connection with nature barely had a mention.

The recently established Landscape, Gardens and Health Network recognises that we need to take a more holistic approach.  It would be good to think that it in the near future it will be common sense to include an appraisal of spiritual benefits in any evaluation of a landscape, rather than pretending that they don't exist.


Penny Brohn Cancer Care Centre (copyright Liz Ware)

The Network's latest meeting and Seminar (held at the exemplary Penny Brohn Cancer Care Centre in Bristol) brought together a mix of gardeners, landscape architects, designers, academics and health care professionals to discuss their work and to make plans for the future of the network.

A website and an international conference highlighting current research are just two of the options being discussed.  There's no shortage of material.  The eight very brief presentations given by network members left me wanting to hear more from them all.  Why, for example, does designer Juliet Sergeant feel that an over-emphasis on the visual beauty of gardens may be leading us to underestimate their full potential?  How does a garden designed for dementia patients as described by Stephen Pettet-Smith differ from the hospice gardens designed by Kathyrn Aalto and Jeremy Parker?

Contact angiebutterfield50@gmail.com or hardyexotic1@btinternet.com for more information.

Thursday 29 January 2015

Landscapes for Everyone


2015 has started at quite a pace.  First up was the launch of Landscapes for Everyone: Creating a Better Future at a Westminster parliamentary reception  The Association of Gardens Trusts (AGT) is one of a consortium of 27 organisations asking politicians from all parties to recognise the importance of our landscapes. http://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/countryside/landscapes/item/3812-landscapes-for-everyone-creating-a-better-future

The consortium includes organisations such as Campaign for National Parks http://www.cnp.org.uk/ , National Trust and the John Muir Trust http://www.jmt.org/ . We are all determined that the impact of landscape on our well-being and quality of life shouldn't be ignored.  Nor should it be used as a political tool.



(copyright - Liz Ware)













As Peter Nixon of National Trust pointed out, the future of our landscapes must be above politics.  The challenges they face continue to grow.  Working together is the best way to ensure that our message is heard.

With that in mind, 2015 is the year in which the decision will be made on the merger of the AGT and the Garden History Society (GHS).  Members of both organisations are working hard to produce a robust business plan and a merger agreement.  The final decision will be made at the Conference and AGMs at Newcastle University in July.  Check http://www.agt-ghstogether.org/ for the latest news on the progress the Transitional Committee are making and to register comments.

Capability Brown Festival 2016 celebrations are just a year away.  If you haven't already done so, now is a good time to sign up for regular email updates.  Be prepared to be impressed with the creative ways in which we are invited to engage with Brown's legacy. http://www.capabilitybrown.org/

A cycle link between Brown sites and a short film on YouTube are just two of the many ways in which new audiences can begin to understand the scale of his achievements. http://www.capabilitybrown.org/news/new-ways-looking-brown

Approaching fast is the Capability Brown Tour at Trentham Gardens on 8 February - an opportunity to find out more about the restoration project taking place there.  Anyone keen to experience landscapes through the soles of their feet (should that be all of us?) will want to hear about future plans for Trentham's Barefoot Walk. http://www.capabilitybrown.org/event/capability-brown-landscape-tour

Around the County Gardens Trusts the research into Brown's landscapes continues.  A recently published book of essays (many of which were written by research volunteers) focuses on the botanical work of the 3rd Earl of Bute at Luton Hoo.  John Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute 1713-92: Botanical and Horticultural Interests and Legacy is edited by Charlotte Phillips and Nora Shane.
Email office@lhwg.org.uk for details.