We are delighted to launch a new alumni project, that we hope will appeal to all those out there who love gardening, or enjoy admiring the gardening work of others!
The Somerville gardening network is to connect gardeners (and would-be gardeners) of all ages and expertise through garden visits, talks, and the occasional masterclass. We envisage a mix of on-line and in-person events, so you can enjoy many of the benefits from wherever you are. There’s always something new to discover about gardening, and as Somervillians are generous sharers of their knowledge, we hope this will tap into a lively, fun community.
We are delighted to be able to launch the Network with another of our Sundays at Somerville talks at 2pm on Sunday 23 February. This time we welcome highly engaging botanist Timothy Walker, Former Director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum, who also teaches Somerville biologists. The talk will be hybrid, and we hope that many alumni (gardeners, would-be gardeners, and admirers of gardens) from all over the country will find the network’s events accessible and appealing.
On 23 February, Timothy’s talk will be entitled The Subtle Science and Exact Art of Colour in English Garden Design. In 1882 Gertrude Jekyll wrote a short but seminal article in The Garden in which she urged the readers to “remember that in a garden we are painting a picture”. As an accomplished watercolour artist, Miss Jekyll was familiar with the principles of using colours, but she felt that in gardens these principles “had been greatly neglected”. This talk looks at how to apply these principles in designing a border, but it also looks at the ways in which a border is different from a painting. However, it goes further than this and looks at how contemporary work of the likes of Turner, Monet, Rothko, Jackson Pollack evolved in parallel with ideas about what a garden or border should look like.
We are delighted that the network will be chaired by Clare Latham (1985, PPE), but she will welcome contact with any alum with particular horticultural interests or expertise, or suggestions for events. Email Jackie Watson (jacqueline.watson@some.ox.ac.uk) to be put in touch.
If you would like to join us for the launch at 2pm on 23 February in person, please book below. Like other Sundays at Somerville events, the talk will be in the Margaret Thatcher Centre and will be followed by afternoon tea. If you sign up to join us online, we will send out the Zoom link shortly before the event.