Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum is hosting a talk by historian Judith B. Tankard about England’s most famous gardener, Gertrude Jekyll, on Saturday, June 8.
Tankard is the author of eight books on American and European landscape history; her most recent work is “Gertrude Jekyll and the Country House Garden.”
Tankard writes that Jekyll “was an artist, a gardener, a designer, a writer, and much more.” Jekyll (1843-1932) spent most of her life in Surrey, England, working from her home at Munstead Woods, a 15-acre estate she transformed into an extensive woodland flower garden. She published several important books, including, most famously, “Colour in the Flower Garden,” and wrote a long-running column in Country Life, one of the most influential gardening magazines of the period.
Jekyll designed hundreds of gardens in her career, including collaborations with many of the most important architects in early twentieth century England. Her gardens often remind viewers of impressionist paintings with their compositions of large drifts of colorful bedding plants.
Tankard has contributed articles in numerous national publications and previously edited the Journal of the New England Garden History. She has a M.A. in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University and taught at the Landscape Institute at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. She is one of America’s leading scholars on American landscape design.
Tickets to the June 8 lecture are $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Call 865-862-8717 or email dana@knoxgarden.org for reservations.
Tankard responded via email to questions about her work.
Your books are generally about landscape designers of the last century and the work they created. What is it about them and their gardens that captivates you?
A: I am interested in British and American architects associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement and all my books reflect the collaboration of architects and garden designers.
How did your career evolve from owning a clothing business to focusing on landscape design?
A: I have a master’s degree in art history specializing in British architecture and design. My interest in the history of landscape architecture evolved from my knowledge of British and American architects of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Edwin Lutyens, who designed gardens with Gertrude Jekyll. My former careers include art book publishing and a brief career as a clothing designer.
What do suburban gardeners need to understand about creating their own outdoor spaces?
A: My best advice is to keep everything as simple as possible, from the layout to the palette of plants. No need to cram every idea and thing into one space.
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