17th November 2010
Doors at 6 pm, Talk commences at 7 pm
In seventeenth-century Britain, a new breed of 'curious' gardeners were pushing at the frontiers of knowledge and new plants were stealing into Europe from East and West. John Tradescant and his son were at the vanguard of this change - as gardeners, as collectors and above all as exemplars of an age that began in wonder and ended with the dawning of science. Jennifer Potter's lecture explores the drama behind the Tradescants' lives and takes us to the edge of an expanding universe. The lecture will be a magnificent pleasure for gardeners and non-gardeners alike.
"Forget Alan Titchmarsh - it's the Tradescants of Jennifer Potter's Strange Blooms we should really salute... Beautifully produced and meticulously researched." - Andrea Wulf, Observer
Jennifer Potter
Jennifer Potter writes from a sense of curiosity about people and the world. She is the author of three novels and two works of non-fiction, Secret Gardens and Lost Gardens. She reviews regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and writes on travel and gardens for a wide range of national newspapers and magazines.
Talk at 11 Mare Street - please click here to buy tickets
