Ian Hamilton Finlay’s ‘Improvement Garden’ at Stockwood Park, Luton

Jointly organised by The Essex Gardens Trust and the Gardens Trust, Kate will talk about the myths and classical references that inspired The Improvement Garden, laid out by Ian Hamilton Finlay at Stockwood Park, Luton. This magical, Grade II* garden was inspired by both the classical world and the 18th century, but with a distinctive 20th century twist. It is not one of horticultural extravagance but of ideas and subtle hints, blending planting, architecture and sculpture to extraordinary effect.

Finlay (1925 to 2006) was not just a gardener but a renowned poet, writer and artist. The Improvement Garden fuses these art forms together within an imaginative landscape to produce what is widely considered today to be the most important example of his work in England.

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Kate Harwood is a lecturer, researcher, and writer on garden history. She completed her MA in Garden History at Birkbeck and later became one of their tutors.

She is a member of the Gardens Trust Conservation Committee and leads the Conservation and Planning group of her home trust, Hertfordshire Gardens Trust. More recently Kate has become a key member of an Ian Hamilton Finlay Partnership which has been set up to look at rejuvenating The Improvement Garden.

Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and a link to the recorded session, available for one week, will be sent shortly afterwards.