Gordon Hayward
The Intimate Garden
Tonight from 6:30 to 8 PM Gordon Hayward is going to be giving a talk at the Westminster Institute and his lecture is called The Intimate Garden.
Hayward, and his wife Mary, have created a garden around their 220-year-old farmhouse. For the past 36 years, they've integrated its design with the house and the surrounding landscape.
Hayward's talk will be illustrated by slides and it will follow the itinerary of their garden and it's 14 rooms or spaces.
As Hayward said,
"It's a practical lecture. We both have our feet on the ground and a shovel in our hands."
Hayward was recently recognized by the Garden Club of America. Just this past May, he was named an honorary member. Hayward has designed gardens professionally for more than 30 years. He's written 11 books and authored over 70 articles on gardening.
Hayward grew up with his two brothers on his family's orchard in New Hartford, Connecticut. The orchard featured apples, peaches, and pears. Hayward said,
"We worked as a family in the orchard for nine months of the year," he said. "Then for three months, from late summer into fall, people came to our barn to buy fruit. Our parents greeted everyone, engaged with everyone, and accepted everyone — there was no judgment of social class. I carry with me the openness and acceptance of their world, traits that have influenced how I interacted with students when I was teaching, and with clients when I became a garden designer."