Our time at Conker Road may be nearer. My mother is on the mend, there's been a good response to a few things we've got going. Had a great chat with my chum Leah and on fb, lovely friend Rachel last night. Soooo looking forward to seeing everyone. Goes without saying we'll miss everyone in Iowa to bits. I'm looking forward to getting on in that garden. Leah may come over to help and we've chatted about doing garden, arty and childrens' classes there. And serving cakes. Woo hoo! (Cake involved, got to be a winner of a scheme in my book._
And there will be lots of chats with lovely Beth at Trevoole and the joining up of forces. The ever lovely Susie of High Meadow of Devon is up for getting stuck in at Conker Road and we'll be visiting Chelsea this May, with Joyce which I am very excited for. Those girls are such good company.
Fab gardeners, Jeanne, and Caroline H of course will be there...and , lest I forget Aimee and Roger , so it's all hands on deck.
Ooh and we shall be furnishing the house with carboot and west briton finds for the time being, so any leads, much appreciated.
Hope you enjoy the mooch.
There' s a documentary series which Elvin, my friend has told me about. I am up in the wee hours, having been greedy with a bowl of late night popcorn and needing to calm my tummy down. I thought I'd have a look on youtube.
Found it. There's a trailer below, a wikipedia description and a bit more info from the programme's own website. I know Elvin worked on the series and traveled about, perhaps as a producer, I will have to ask him. There's a bit of behind the scenes footage with Hepburn arriving at Tintinhull in Somerset and greeted by Penelope Hobhouse.
(This is the behind the scenes vid clip, the main one follows.)
The website links to other reviews etc and a great piece from the NYT by the wonderful Michael Pollan in 2008 on why we should garden, with references to Wendell Berry and others.
I'm going to try to chase up the individual topics of youtube. Will post if I'm successful.
Just below is the main trailer:
We all have within us a need to create beauty.
And we all can in a garden, however small.
It is this need which has written the history of gardens.
– Audrey Hepburn
Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn is an acclaimed documentary television series that debuted in the United States on PBS on January 21, 1993. It is Audrey Hepburn's final performance before the camera, filmed on location in seven countries in the spring and summer of 1990. Hepburn was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement posthumously.
The series features Hepburn visiting exemplary and elegant gardens both private and public; each episode sets forth a different garden theme, as well as aesthetic, environmental, historical or horticultural concepts. Interspersed with Hepburn's on-camera performances are expository and historical background segments narrated both by Audrey Hepburn and Michael York.
The first six episodes aired in 1993, however the final two installments were not broadcast until 1996. In all, there are eight episodes: These are:
Episode 1. "Roses and Rose Gardens": An adventure with the flower of legend, romance and beauty
Episode 2. "Formal Gardens": A journey through the evolution of formal garden design
Episode 3. "Country Gardens": An exploration of the earthly country garden
Episode 4. "Public Gardens and Trees": The stories of Mt. Vernon and the greening of Paris, concluding with Hepburn's tribute to trees and nature
Episode 5." Flower Gardens": An exploration of Monet’s gardens at Giverny and classic English perennial border styles
Episode 6. "Tropical Gardens": A wide ranging affirmation of nature’s floral diversity
Episode 7. "Japanese Gardens": A journey reflecting centuries of Japanese cultural reverence for nature
Episode 8. "Tulips and Spring Bulbs": A focus on spring blossoms and their inspiration as art and in the garden
Audrey Hepburn wrote the foreword to the hardcover companion book, Gardens of the World: The Art & Practice of Gardening. A DVD of all 8 programs was released in 1999; in September 2006, an extended DVD edition was released.
Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn
DVD Program Titles & Chapters
Roses & Rose Gardens.A glorious adventure with the ultimate flower of legend, romance and beauty: 1) The French Ideal, 2) Mottisfont Abbey and Audrey Hepburn with Sir Graham Stuart Thomas, 3) A Rose Revolution, 4) For Every Garden, 5) Ode to the Rose, 6) Breadth of Beauty.
Formal Gardens.An enchanting journey through the rich evolution of formal garden design: 1) The Formal Ideal and Origins, 2) Villa Lante, 3) 17th Century France, 4) The Pendulum Swings, 5) Hidcote Manor, 6) A Formal Conclusion (Audrey Hepburn w/Penelope Hobhouse, Pt 1).
Tulips & Spring Bulbs.A bright survey of spring blossoms and their inspiration – in art and in the garden: 1).The Queen of Spring, 2) Tulipomania, 3) A Golden Age, 4) In Every Bulb a Flower, 5) Garden Favorites, 6) Nature’s Way.
Japanese Gardens.A serene journey reflecting centuries of cultural reverence for nature. 1) The Moss Temple, 2) Karesansui, Dry Landscape Gardens, 3) A Reflection of Nature, 4) Hill & Pond and Tea Gardens, 5) The Strolling Garden, Shinshin-an.
Flower Gardens.An artful exploration of Monet’s gardens at Giverny and classic perennial borders in England: 1) The English Style, 2) Audrey with Penelope Hobhouse, Part 2, 3) The Age of Flowers, 4) Audrey’s Favorite Flower Names, 5) Monet’s Flower Gardens, 6) Monet’s Water Garden.
Country Gardens. An intimate exploration of earthly country garden pleasures: 1) Summer Afternoon, 2) Ryan Gainey, in Decatur, GA, 3) Through the Ages, 4) The Cottage Garden w/John Brookes, 5) Ninfa, 6) The Country Ideal.
Tropical Gardens.A wide ranging affirmation of nature’s floristic richness: 1) Nature’s Imagination, 2) The Lure of the Tropics, 3) Illustrious Legacies, 4) Villa Pancha, 5) Botanical Wealth, 6) Forevermore a Garden.
Public Gardens & Trees.Mt. Vernon and the story of the greening of Paris lead a poignant tribute to trees and nature: 1) Mount Vernon, 2) From Royal to Public, 3) The Greening of Paris and Pocket Parks, 4) Trees, 5) An Ode to Trees & Nature, Audrey Hepburn reading from the Diary of Anne Frank.
