Gordon Hayward believes that gardening is first and foremost about making places for people. He will present his accessible approach to garden design in a program Aug. 27 at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland.
The course, co-sponsored by Phipps and Penn State Extension-Allegheny County, will be presented in three parts, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The topics will be, in order: linking house and garden, use of stone in the garden, and how fine painting can inspire garden design.
Mr. Hayward is a nationally recognized garden designer, writer and lecturer who has spent the past 26 years creating a unique 1.5-acre garden around the 220-year-old Vermont farmhouse that he shares with his wife Mary. They also garden around their cottage in Blockley, Gloucestershire, in the North Cotswolds of England, Mary’s homeland. They have led 16 tours for garden clubs to southern England.
He wrote for Horticulture magazine for 25 years, was a contributing editor at Fine Gardening magazine for six years and is now a contributing editor at the newly revamped Organic Gardening magazine. He is also the author of 11 books on garden design, two of which have won national awards.
Mr. Hayward’s approach to designing gardens is to place houses within gardens that are accessible and sustainable.
“When we live in a house in a garden, the spirit of the garden infuses the house with a kind of peace. To live in a house in a garden helps us regenerate, to feel settled in our house. When we stand at the windows and doorways of our house, we look into a garden that relates,” he says.
Speak Your Mind