Lecture Series

Horticulture and History Author Abra Lee is poised to captivate audiences as she shares from her upcoming book, Conquer the Soil, a remarkable profile of hidden figures in horticulture – Black women and men whose exceptional careers in the plant world have remained largely unknown or overlooked. In her presentation, Abra will cast a spotlight on these remarkable individuals, giving them the recognition they truly deserve while enhancing our collective understanding of horticultural history.

Abra Lee is a storyteller and author of the forthcoming book Conquer The Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country’s Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers. Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Fine Gardening, and Veranda magazine. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University College of Agriculture and an alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals.
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/abra-lee/conquer-the-soil/9781643260624/?lens=timber-press

Discover the history of the landscapes and gardens of the Hudson Valley’s Montgomery Place and San Francisco’s Presidio through Jane Delury’s novel, Hedge. Montgomery Place, a 19th century estate on the Hudson River, once bloomed with an elaborate Gilded Age Garden, created with the help of famed landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing. The Presidio, a former outpost for the Spanish empire, hides the traces of gardens kept by its first settlers. Jane will bring you behind the scenes of her story about a garden historian trying to remake her life while unearthing gardens in both locations. She’ll read short excerpts from the book and describe the research she conducted with the help of archeologists, archivists, and gardening experts.  

Jane Delury is the author of the novels  Hedge  (a Summer 2023 People Magazine and Oprah Daily pick) and The Balcony, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a professor of creative writing at the University of Baltimore where she directs the BA in English.
www.janedelury.com

Join Papercut Artist Annie Howe to learn more about her work, how she got into papercutting and how she takes her intricate papercuts and transforms them beyond the papercut into a variety of projects including illustration, product design, and public artwork. Annie will share background on some of her favorite projects and bring lots of samples of her work for you to look at up close.

Annie Howe graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Fiber before founding Annie Howe Papercuts in 2010. Annie’s business specializes in handmade papercuts for businesses, publications, and private collections, with clients including Anthropology, Great Arrow Graphics, Southern Living magazine, Country Living magazine, Visit Baltimore, T. Rowe Price, Hudson Seed Library, and more.
www.anniehowepapercuts.com

John Lonsdale will discuss and illustrate a wide variety of the many uncommon and beautiful shade and sun-loving fall-flowering “bulbs” which he grows in his zone 7a garden and greenhouses in Exton, PA. In addition to the true bulbs, such as snowdrops, his presentation will feature plants utilizing tubers, corms and rhizomes – anything that allows geophytes to live through periods of adverse weather.
 

John is particularly interested in pushing the hardiness limits of these plants, and his talk will emphasize methods for their successful cultivation and propagation, especially from seed. The presentation will showcase fall and early winter-flowering Cyclamen, Galanthus, Crocus, Sternbergia and Colchicum, as well as representatives of other less well-known genera. A selection of potted bulbs will be available for purchase. John Lonsdale gardens at Edgewood Gardens in Exton, Pennsylvania and has been growing a variety of alpine and woodland plants and bulbs for more than 40 years. John received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
www.edgewoodgardens.net

Join Reed Bmore, a wire street artist hailing from Baltimore, MD, as he reveals the magic behind the intricate metal-bending craft. Taking inspiration from the city’s industrial heritage and the raw creativity of street art, Reed transforms ordinary wire into stunning sculptures that capture the spirit of urban life. Reed will delve into his process of meticulously bending and shaping each piece by hand, a skill honed through years of practice and deep passion for his craft. Reed’s art not only beautifies the streets, but also fosters community pride sparking conversations about art and culture among residents and visitors alike in Baltimore.

Reed Bmore earned his BFA in Environmental Design from the Maryland Institute of Art (MICA) and currently has wire sculptures hanging throughout the country. His “Garden Guardians: Enchanting Fox Spirits,” and “Invasive Impression” exhibits are currently on display throughout Ladew Gardens. www.reedbmore.art

Working as a contributing editor for Town and Country magazine, Elizabeth’s story on shopping in Bangkok turned out to be a life-altering event that led her to a degree in gemology and her life’s vocation. She began Elizabeth Locke Jewels in 1988, relying on her experiences abroad and fueled by her visual sensibility, reflected in her extensive gardens and her beautifully designed home. The “Accidental Jeweler” tells the story of Elizabeth’s journey as a designer through a series of humorous anecdotes.

Elizabeth Locke draws on a lifelong fascination with the antique jewelry of the Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans as she creates her own neo-classical hand-made 19k gold jewelry. Elizabeth’s deepest passion is for one-of-a-kid antiquities: 19th century micro mosaics and Pietra Duras, 18th century Chinese gambling counters, Essex crystals, miniature paintings or antique Japanese porcelain buttons.
www.elizabethlocke.com