Notes from Coastal England - The Gardens of Prospect Cottage & Great Dixter

This event is included with Garden Admission.

Join us for an afternoon chat with gardener and florist Kelsey Sykes as she takes us on a journey of coastal England through two of its most iconic gardens—Christopher Lloyd’s Great Dixter and Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be provided. Please note: Guests wishing to tour the museum prior to this event should plan to purchase a museum + garden combo ticket. We recommend reserving these tickets well in advance, as museum tours often fill up quickly.

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Separated by a short distance, the two sites vary widely in scope and impact, from discrete bursts of color among the rocks at a fisherman’s cottage, to a symphony of plantings around a manor house. Sykes will share photos and stories from each place and discuss their impact and influence on her own work in central Virginia. She will explore the gardens and their creators through the lens of horticulture as an art practice and ponder the interplay of identity between the gardener and the garden, control versus cartaking and how legacy gardens can evolve into “modern nature” to stay relevant and be conscious of their role in their community and environment.

3:00pm: Attendees arrive and check in at Visitor Center, then head to the museum's Williams Room.

3:15pm: Presentation by Kelsey Sykes, follwed by Q&A

4:00pm: Explore the gardens and grounds

5:00pm: Event concludes and guests depart

This event is presented by the Agecroft Hall and Gardens Horticulture Department.

You can purchase your garden admission online, or at the museum the day of the event.