Details of the lecture

The long shadow of the Arts and Crafts Movement has hung over English gardening for most of the twentieth century. The dominance of Miss Jekyll and the enduring popularity of gardens at Hidcote and Sissinghurst have proved to be an enduring legacy. There were always subversive undercurrents of alternative styles and influences which, as the new century gets into its stride, have gained a greater importance and momentum. Post-Modernism, rich in symbolism, has, in gardens like Portrack, Little Sparta and Througham Court, explored the worlds of literature and science; while plants, for centuries an abiding passion of English gardeners, have continued to cast their spells, with newly-discovered plants enriching gardens across the country. The New Perennial movement, originating in Europe, has allied itself to our increasing desire to go organic and the interest in woodland and wild-flower meadows to produce a freer, gentler style of painting, spearheaded by Tom Stuart-Smith, perhaps more in tune with the Twenty-First Century.

Lecturer: James Bolton

James Bolton, theartssocietyeandp.org.uk

Inchbald School of Design 1990 (Dip ISD). Head Gardener, Old Rectory Farnborough 1990-92. Faculty Director, Design History, Inchbald School of Design. Garden Designer 1992-. A lecturer for The Arts Society since 1995. Organiser of The Arts Society’s garden study days and tours in UK and Europe. Organises tours to the best private gardens in the UK, Italy, France and South Africa. Garden Mania, a book on garden ornaments, published in 2000.

Gertrude Jekyll by William Nicholson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons