2021 Horticultural Lectures
Wave Hill’s 2021 Horticultural Lecture Series starts and ends at great English gardens, both with plantings of modern sensibility and a strong emphasis on encouraging biodiversity. In between, we offer a story of great American gardeners, growers and plant people who, just as they were realizing success in the early 20th century, were forced to give it up and start again following World War II. This year, for the first time, our distinguished lecture series took place virtually on Zoom.
Malverleys, Making and Maintaining an English Flower Garden
Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 4–5:30PM: Matthew Reese
Malverleys is home to an English Flower Garden that has been created and developed over the last 10 years by head gardener Matthew Reese, together with the owners. Its classical design features complex and dynamic plantings, with York stone paths and yew hedging forming a framework of garden rooms, and deep borders that are home to mixed plantings. Reese introduces us to the experience of building a garden from scratch—laying out its design and plantings and then maintaining it to achieve a naturalistic effect. Event Concluded.
Uprooted: The Untold Story of Japanese American Influence on Our Gardens
Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 4–5:30PM with Eric Hsu
No garden today is untouched by the legacy of Japan’s gardening culture, not only in terms of the plants themselves, but especially the hard graft of Japanese immigrants who put down roots and built successful nurseries and cut-flower farms in the United States. The movement of Japanese plants through Japanese American nurseries and into our lives today is a story of political and economic upheavals, an echo of societal mores, and the perseverance and optimism of the quintessential, American immigrant experience.
Wild at Dixter
Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 4–5:30PM with Fergus Garrett
Can gardens be designed and managed to support biodiversity while maintaining their aesthetics? Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener of Great Dixter House & Gardens in East Sussex, shares a new approach to gardening at this influential Arts and Crafts garden, where mosaic habitats are woven into the landscape to enhance wildlife habitats. Great Dixter, the home of the legendary gardener and author Christopher Lloyd, is known for the way it merges the natural and cultivated world. Hear from him how a biodiversity audit is influencing the way that the site is managed, balancing the needs of wildlife, access, gardening and forestry. Award-winning author and podcaster Margaret Roach joins the conversation to offer an American perspective.