Unforgettable Gardens

This ticket costs £12 for the entire course of 3 sessions or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £5 via the links below.

Please note the start time of 6.30pm.

Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards

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The Japanese Garden Society are delighted to share with us some very important and Unforgettable Japanese Gardens. The series starts with a new Japanese “strolling garden” in southwest Ireland, open to the public since 2015. It's design celebrates the life of an early Western interpreter of Japan’s culture and folklore. The second talk describes a Japanese garden constructed sixty years ago to create harmonious views from the architect designed New House, both now listed by Historic England as Grade II. The third Japanese garden was constructed 110 years ago within Tatton Park, a private garden until it was opened to the public in 1960.

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Week 1. 1 December. Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens: Part of a series of 3 online lectures, £5 each or all 3 for £12.

Week 2. 8 December. The New House, Shipton -Under-Wychwood: Part of a series of 3 online lectures, £5 each or all 3 for £12.

Week 3. 15 December. The Japanese Garden at Tatton Park: Part of a series of 3 online lectures, £5 each or all 3 for £12.

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Week 1. 1 December: ‘A Story Still Told Set Firmly as Rocks in a Zen Garden’ Ireland’s Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens with Agnes Aylward

This illustrated lecture will describe the design, construction, and storyline of a unique biographical garden, which pays homage to the great 19th century chronicler of Japan, Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (1850 – 1904). The storyline of the garden traverses a circle in time over 160 years, from the childhood years of the writer, in Ireland, to the reconnaissance visit there of his great grandson, Professor Bon Koizumi, in 2012. A chance encounter with the speaker lead to the establishment of the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens, in Tramore, Ireland.

The theme and design of the gardens reflect and mirror Hearn’s extraordinary journey through life, from West to East, and from his lonely early years in Ireland to the honour and fame he achieved in his later life in Japan.

Agnes Aylward is a retired Irish public servant and Chairperson of the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Garden. In 2012 Agnes came up with the idea of developing the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens in her native Tramore, Co. Waterford. Her central concept was to create a unique homage to Patrick Lafcadio Hearn – one of the first Western interpreters of Japan’s ancient culture and folklore. In August 2021 Agnes was awarded the ‘Commendation of the Japanese Foreign Minister’ in formal recognition of her personal contribution to promoting mutual understanding between Japan and Ireland.

In her former working life, Agnes was heavily involved in framing national science policy in Ireland and other OECD member states. She was also involved in the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Programme. This scheme led to the restoration and opening to the public of historic gardens throughout the country – a lost legacy associated with the ‘Big House’ of the Irish ascendancy and their private demesnes.

Week 2. 8 December: A 1960’s Japanese garden in the Cotswolds: The New House, Shipton -Under-Wychwood with Adrienne McStocker

A Japanese garden envelops a weekend retreat in a quiet village in the Cotswolds. This is the New House designed by Stout and Litchfield, exponents of humane modernism. The garden created by its owners, the artist Viacheslav Atroshenko and the barrister Milton Grundy, provides a beautiful and atmospheric setting for the modern house. Both the house and garden are listed by Historic England as Grade II*.

This illustrated lecture will review the creators’ vision for the garden and the influences on its design and execution. As we walk through the garden, you will be able to experience how the New House is a perfect synthesis of place, house, and garden.

Adrienne McStocker is a member of the Gardens Trust and the Japanese Garden Society in the UK. In her former life as a tax consultant, she worked in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific. A visit to Kyoto inspired an interest in art pottery which led to an interest in Japanese gardens.She is currently studying for an MA in Garden and Landscape History with the University of London and completing a garden design project for a 17th century house in Cornwall.

Image: ©Roger Harris

Week 3. 15 December: The Japanese Garden at Tatton Park with Graham Hardman

The Japanese garden at Tatton Park in East Cheshire is one of the oldest surviving gardens built before the First World War and is well known in Japan as one of the foremost Japanese gardens in the UK. The garden is part of 50 acres of landscaped gardens created by the Egerton family at Tatton Hall from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

Starting with what the garden looks like today, the illustrated lecture will explore how the garden came into being, the influences on its design and show some rare photographs of its construction between 1910 and 1912. The garden survived until 1958 when the last Baron Egerton died without an heir, the Tatton estate being taken over by the National Trust in conjunction with Cheshire (now Cheshire East) County Council. How the garden was adapted from a private garden to being open to the public in the 1960s and its subsequent restoration in 2001 will be described. Finally, the difficulties of caring for such a garden in today’s environment will be discussed as well as the involvement in recent years of the Japanese Garden Society.

Graham Hardman has been a freelance Garden Designer for over 20 years, with a special interest in Japanese gardens. He has designed and managed construction of several Japanese gardens, including Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Norwich Cathedral and Walkden Gardens in Manchester. He has lead garden tours for members of the Japanese Garden Society and is a regular speaker on Japanese gardens. In 2015 the Japanese Government awarded Graham the ‘Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Rosette’ for services in furthering awareness of Japanese culture in the UK through Japanese gardens.