pro palma hortus, ut vadum nunquam recedo*

Hello, and welcome to my website!  I am a freelance garden historian, and can offer your group or society a variety of talks connected with this, the most fascinating of subjects. I can also offer my services as a tour guide of many historic gardens across the UK and Europe, assist you with a research project or help you design your garden in a particular period style.

 

 

 

 

    Me, with view of my historic wheelie bins! 

 

I have been giving lectures since 2000, and am currently taking bookings for 2010 and beyond. 

 

My clients include:

 

  • The Eden Project
  • National Portrait Gallery
  • Imperial War Musem
  • The Royal Pavilion, Brighton
  • Painshill Landscape Garden Trust
  • Blenheim Palace
  • Waddesdon Manor
  • Dulwich Picture Gallery
  • The National Trust (at many individual properties and for 30 + branches of the Members' Association)
  • Ness Botanic Garden
  • Northampton Museum
  • Chelsea Physic Garden
  • the Universities of Essex, Reading and Kent
  • the University of the Third Age
  • local gardening, history and natural history societies and the Women's Institute.

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All my lectures (apart from one) are slide illustrated and most can be adapted to suit your needs as regards timing  - from 45 minutes to 1½ hours or longer.  Many can be arranged to incorporate a refreshment break if necessary.  "Flower Power" talks are 30 minutes long and can be combined to make a longer talk to suit the time available. "The Inexhaustible Mr. Paxton" is a longer talk and requires 1½ hours in total. A full list of the lectures I can currently offer can be found by clicking on the appropriate arrow at the side of the page.   I can provide my own slide projector if necessary, but the use of a screen or appropriate alternative projection surface would be appreciated.

 

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I also offer two longer lectures, designed to give a more in depth look at the history of gardening in a "study day" format, ideal for both large and small groups wishing to explore the subject further.  The day is broken down into four easily digestible units of 1 - 1½ hours, and incorporates a 20 - 30 minute morning break, an hour for lunch, and a similar break in the afternoon.  This format also allows ample time for group discussion   Study days are ideal for universities, colleges, museums and gardens with a public lecture programme, or for private groups wanting something "a little different" for their members, perhaps as a fundraising event or special interest day.

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A full diary of talks that I am scheduled to give can be found on the "Diary" page.

 

Nothing to do with garden history, my incredibly opinionated theatre reviews can be found here:


http://www.russells-theatre-reviews.blogspot.com


Make yourself a cup of tea, read and enjoy!

 

* For the glory of the garden, may it never pass away" -the final line of Kipling's famous poem "The Glory of the Garden"