Social media has made gardens, gardening, and gardeners more accessible than ever before.
We are now able to visit gardens all over the world and learn from gardening experts all from the comfort of our smartphones. The ways in which we find and filter inspiration has changed but is the experience of visiting a garden in-person irreplaceable?
Is social media a tool that drives us towards or away from visiting gardens and engaging with our spaces? What can those who share gardening content on social media tell us about its power and influence?
We’ll be exploring this brave new world in the InstaGarden talk with garden designer Jo Thompson (@jothompsongarden), garden designer and writer Sean Pritchard (@sean_anthony_pritchard), and Iford Manor Head Gardener Steve Lannin (@stevelannin).
Speakers
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Sean Pritchard
Sean Pritchard
Sean is a garden designer based in Somerset and London and has exhibited gardens at RHS Hampton Court and the Harrogate Flower Show. Sean uses Instagram to share snapshots of his work with plants and flowers with his 100,000+ followers.
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Jo Thompson
Jo Thompson
Sean Pritchard
Jo Thompson
Her designs are wide ranging: from residential family gardens, historic landscapes, public spaces and country estates to restaurant roof gardens, rooftop terraces and urban boltholes. The gardens are notable for the way in which they sit beautifully within their surroundings: rather than following fashions, Jo uses her innate understanding of a place to ensure that the landscapes she creates both work seamlessly within their locations and perfectly for her clients. Her exquisite planting has led her to be considered one of the UK’s leading plants women. Current projects include working with Iford Manor in Wiltshire, the restoration of Highgate Cemetery in London with Gustafson Porter + Bowman, and the regeneration of the walled gardens at Water Lane in Kent.
Jo is the recipient of four Gold and five Silver Gilt medals from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and gained the coveted People’s Choice at the first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show in 2017. She is a member of the RHS Gardens Committee and is Garden Advisor for RHS Rosemoor, as well as being a member of the RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel and an RHS Shows Judge. Jo speaks both nationally and internationally, and also tutors at The London College of Garden Design. She is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute and a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers. She is a Trustee of Bankside Open Spaces Trust.
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Steve Lannin
Steve Lannin
Steve is Head Gardener at Iford Manor in Wiltshire. He was previously Head Gardener at Mapperton in Dorset. Steve uses Instagram to document the beauty of the gardens he looks after throughout the seasons.
