L E S S O N S T O B E L E A R N E D F R O M V I S I T I N G G A R D E N S
Visiting a garden, whether public or private, is a rare treat, in part because it can help us see our own garden more clearly. What we get out of visiting a garden, however, is not up to the garden; it’s up to us to ask the right questions. Too often we don’t get all we could out of a visit because we walk into a fine garden looking to see what we like and don’t like about it. Our own judgmental attitudes get in the way of learning new principles of garden design. And once we pass judgment, we often limit ourselves to the question, “What’s that plant?” In this one-hour lecture, Hayward will show 40 pairs of slides he has taken of grand gardens through America and England. Throughout he will show you how to look at grand gardens so as to gather new ideas for your own more modest garden. This lecture comes out of an article Hayward wrote for the April, 2002 issue of Horticulture Magazine.
ABOVE: Small buildings such as Gail Gee’s gazebo in her garden in Maryland can generate ideas for gardens around them.