Ellie Selig Distinguished Garden Design Lecture Series

Into The Wild By Christopher Woods

Thursday, October 3, 2024 | Reception at 6 p.m., Lecture at 6:30 p.m.

Accompanied by stunning photographs, Chris Woods will share his story of growing up in London during the cultural revolution, falling in love with horticulture, and his work conducted in the United States. For three years, he traveled the world to find contemporary gardens. Fifty of the best gardens became the subject matter for Gardenlust. Chris will describe the most arresting features in public parks in exotic locations such as New Delhi and Dubai, mission redefining gardens in Chile and Australia, and the most enviable details of lavish private estates and gemlike city landscapes. Throughout, he will reveal the fascinating people, plants, and stories that make these gardens so lust-worthy. Lecture followed by Q&A, dancing with the speaker, and book signing.

Speaker: Christopher Woods
Fee: Free. Reservations and walk-ins welcome.
Location: The Betty Kelso Center

This session organized with the generous support of Alturas Foundation.

About the Speaker
Christopher Woods was born in London, England but has lived in the United States since 1981. He has worked in the garden world as a gardener, director, designer, writer, and teacher for 50 years. He is best-known for his work at Chanticleer, a “pleasure garden” in Wayne, PA, where he worked for 20 years, as the founding director and primary creator. Now regarded as one of the most innovative of America’s decorative public gardens, Chanticleer continues to lead the way in the art of public garden design. Subsequently he served as vice president for horticulture at the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, director of the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, Canada, and executive director of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden. In 2012, he was lured back east by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and appointed director of its private estate and garden, Meadowbrook Farm. After Meadowbrook, he began to write a trilogy of books about plants around the world. He now lives in Mexico and, on occasion, the United States. His first book, The Encyclopedia of Perennials, was published in 1992 by Facts on File. He contributed to 1001 Gardens to See Before You Die (Barron’s Educational Series, 2012) and The Gardener’s Garden (Phaidon Press, 2014). In 2018, Timber Press published Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the World’s Best Gardens. In 2023, Timber Press published his third book, Our Natural World Heritage, in conjunction with UNESCO. He is currently working on a fourth book.

About the Ellie Selig Distinguished Garden Design Lecture Series
Ellie Selig Distinguished Garden Design Lecture Series is meant to provide inspirational and informative ideas for garden-making by renowned garden designers, landscape architects, or garden makers.