The Other Rosaceae: talk by Tom la Dell

The National Fruit Collection growing at Brogdale is the most comprehensive collection of fruit varieties in the world. It is the contribution of DEFRA (the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation’s collections of genetic diversity to secure the future of the world’s food crops. It is the only fruiting collection, providing public access to the National Fruit Collection and to a wide range of education programmes on the heritage of the varieties held, fruit cultivation, and fruit in a healthy diet, plus guided tours, festivals and events. Tom will talk about the 4,000 apples, pears, cherries, plums and smaller collections, and how Brogdale Collections is working to maximise the public benefits of these wonderful collections. Future plans include a series of fruit gardens from Medieval to Renaissance (Italian Villas) to Baroque (Versailles) and the Victorian kitchen garden, to show around 400 historic varieties in their historic settings.

Tom la Dell is a landscape architect and ecologist, a trustee of the charity Brogdale Collections, a member of the Kent Gardens Trust and the HRG. Originally a plant scientist, Tom became a landscape architect instead of working with breeding food crops. His work has included all aspects of landscape architecture, often combined with his work as an ecologist. He has written extensively for the KGT and the Historic Rose Journal. His long-standing interest in garden history and plant heritage started with excellent lectures in the late 1960s.

This is the third in a series of seven online talks on the theme “Roses from the Arctic to Australia” in partnership with the Gardens Trust, with an international slant. Each talk is a live online presentation, chaired by Maeve Heneke, Hon Sec of the HRG, with tickets available at £5 each of £28 for the entire series of seven evenings. Talks start at 6pm and last approx. one hour, with an extra half hour for audience questions to the speaker.

You can buy a ticket here for the entire course of seven sessions for £28.

Or buy a ticket for this individual lecture here for £5.